Over the first half of year Russia's Siberian Chemical Combine (SCC) in Seversk produced isotopes worth more than RUB10m ($159,190).
“Stable isotopes of chromium, tellurium, sulphur, germanium, xenon, tungsten were supplied to Russian and foreign consumers," a SCC statement said. Three isotope separation plants and a newly built pilot section now produce stable isotopes in marketable form. SCC said the isotopes have "a price advantage" and can be produced quickly.
SCC has tested the technology and obtained stable isotopes of tin, selenium, tungsten, sulphur, chromium, tellurium, lead, germanium, xenon, krypton, chlorine and other elements, which are used medicine, electronics, and other industries.
Meanwhile, Russia's Research Institute of Atomic Reactors (NIIAR) in Dimitrovgrad plans this year to increase sales of isotopes by 26% compared with 2014, up to RUB837m, the company's annual report said. Between 2011 and 2014 the production and sales of isotopes increased 1.8 times, or by RUB294m, including RUB124m following the launch of a production unit for medical isotope molybdenum-99. In 2015, revenue from the sale of Mo-99 is planned to total RUB291m with RUB546m coming from sales of other isotopes.
Last year, deliveries of Mo-99 were made to the Obninsk-based branch of the Karpov Scientific Research Institute of Physics & Chemistry (52 batches), as well as to Argentina (47 batches), South Korea (19 batches), and Switzerland (45 batches). Test batches were delivered to Brazil, China, Japan, and Poland.
As well as developing its Mo-99 production, NIIAR is modernising its production facilities for isotopes of cobalt-60, iodine-131, strontium-89, yttrium-90, californium-252 and other transuranic elements.
