Reactor

Eden has exclusive rights to the “All-Target Reactor” concept patented by Sandia National Laboratories. The patent inventors are Dr. Ed Parma and Dr. Richard Coats, two of Eden’s founders. The Eden nuclear reactor technology is very simple. Instead of using a large high-flux reactor to irradiate uranium loaded targets, the Eden reactor core is entirely made out of low-enriched uranium (LEU) targets. Every target can be processed to make Mo-99 and no driver fuel is required. This innovative approach allows Eden to produce Mo-99 without creating spent nuclear fuel. By using this method, the reactor is optimized to produce Mo-99. The reactor operates at 2 MW in an open pool, making it relatively easy to operate and inherently safe. At this power level,only a limited number of targets can be processed each week to meet the US demand for Mo-99. The reactor also has a relatively high thermal neutron flux, allowing for activation locations for the production of significant quantities of transmutation isotopes such as Lu-177.

Another unique feature of Eden’s technology is that the nuclear reactor facility and hot cell facility are combined together such that the targets can be processed immediately after irradiation, minimizing the decay losses experienced at other facilities. The modified Cintichem process is used to chemically separate the Mo-99 from the other fission products. The uranium is also removed from the fission products, allowing it to be recycled back into new targets for future use. The waste stream fission products are solidified and, after decay, shipped to a low-level waste repository located only three miles from our site.