A New Method for Cooling a Solid Target during Iodine-123/124 Production at a Cyclotron

The possibility of cooling a ТеО₂ target during production of radionuclides based on ^123/124I has been investigated. Different cooling methods used in production of radiopharmaceuticals, as well as their advantages and drawbacks, are considered. A new method is proposed for cooling the front side of a solid target (a TeO₂ layer) by a fine-dispersed flow of sprayed water. Experiments have been conducted at the cyclotron of the Tomsk Polytechnic University on the cooling of a TeO₂ target irradiated by an accelerated deuteron beam. As a result, at a water flow rate of 15 mL/min and a spraying plume diameter of 38 mm, the beam thermal energy of 113 W has been dissipated at a target surface temperature of 120−130°C.