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Industrial separation of oxygen isotopes by oxygen distillation
Author(s) -
Igarashi Takehiro,
Kambe Takashi,
Kihara Hitoshi
Publication year - 2019
Publication title -
journal of labelled compounds and radiopharmaceuticals
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.432
H-Index - 47
eISSN - 1099-1344
pISSN - 0362-4803
DOI - 10.1002/jlcr.3798
Subject(s) - distillation , chemistry , air separation , oxygen , isotope separation , isotopes of oxygen , stable isotope ratio , isotope , radiochemistry , process engineering , chromatography , nuclear chemistry , organic chemistry , nuclear physics , physics , engineering
18 O‐labeled water (Water‐ 18 O) is a widely used starting material of 18 F‐labeled diagnostic agents in positron emission tomography (PET). Conventionally, Water‐ 18 O has been separated from other stable oxygen isotope species ( 16 O, 17 O) by water distillation or nitric oxide distillation. However, conventional methods are costly and may have safety issues. In 2004, we developed the first unit of our novel oxygen isotope separation process by cryogenic oxygen distillation to overcome these issues. To meet the needs of the market, we built a second unit in 2013 and a third in 2016. We are now operating three commercially viable separation units with a total capacity of 600 kg of Water‐ 18 O per year.