Purification of recovered tellurium dioxide for re-use in iodine radioisotope production

In the production of radioiodine via charged particle activation of isotopically enriched TeO 2 and subsequent heating of the irradiated target, some TeO 2 is lost. Again, use of recovered TeO 2 for radioiodine production showed that impurities are present, which prevent complete volatilization of radioiodine from the heated target. An effective purification procedure for recovered TeO 2 has been developed, resulting in a yield of 95–97%. The procedure developed may also be used to purify Te metal.