evaluation of the mass and activity of am-241 radionuclide production from different reactors using origen code

Am-241 is one of the transuranic elements that is used in measuring and controlling the thickness of various industrial materials, diagnosing thyroid disorders, smoke detectors production, designing neutron sources for well logging, etc. therefore, due to the wide applications of this isotope, research and development for its production, separation, and purification are of great importance. nowadays, the commercial production of this isotope is done in the united states and russia. since the production of am-241 is carried out from irradiated fuel of power reactors or irradiation targets in research reactors, in this work, the possibility of production and activity of this radionuclide from the irradiated fuel of a typical 1000 mwe and 360 mwe reactors has been investigated using the origen code. results indicate the highest production of am-241 in a 1000 mwe reactor. therefore, the irradiated fuel of the 1000 mwe reactor can be a suitable source for the extraction of this isotope.