Feasibility analysis of I-131 production in the Moroccan TRIGA research reactor

•A feasibility analysis for I-131 production at the Moroccan TRIGA MARK II research reactor was conducted.•Two production scenarios were discussed with several TeO2 target masses.•The MCNPX v2.7 computer code with its depletion capabilities was used.•A production activity of about 4.63 Ci per 80 MWh irradiation period is obtained.

Since the commissioning of the Moroccan 2 MW TRIGA MARK II research reactor hosted by the Centre National de l’Energie des Sciences et des Techniques Nucléaires (CNESTEN), the latter institution has established a radioisotope production program to supply radiopharmaceuticals for use in nuclear medicine. This paper presents a feasibility analysis for I-131 production using two in-core irradiation positions within the Moroccan TRIGA MARK II research reactor. The MCNPX v2.7 code, with its depletion capabilities, was used for the evaluation of two different production scenarios using several masses of TeO2 target samples. The maximum achievable activities were found to be 3.90 Ci/week for scenario 1 and 4.63 Ci/week for scenario 2. Thermal analysis shows that safety limits of capsules used for these experiments were not violated.