Localization of the production and purification of Fe-55-radioisotope for the use in open and closed sources

The purpose of this study is to investigate the possibility of producing iron-55 as an X-ray source for the scientific and industrial applications. There are some advantages for this method the elimination of the manganese electro-plating, dissolving process in the target production step, and the need for the complex stages of chemical and radio-chemical purification. The calculations of proton energy for the target bombardment was performed using the ALICE/ASH method. The samples were evaluated to produce iron-55 determination by X-ray and gamma spectroscopy. Manganese-54 was produced as a major impurity in the production of iron-55. The Separation and purification phase of iron-55 from manganese was carried out by combining of precipitation and liquid-liquid extraction. The amount of manganese and manganese-54 was significant, but the results showed that the separation of manganese from iron-55 has been performed efficiently. Also, results agreed that the production and purification of iron-55 radioisotope for territorial use in Iran is possible with the proposed method.