Determination of plutonium in spent nuclear fuel using high resolution X-ray
Abstract
Characterization of Pu is an essential aspect of safeguards operations at nuclear fuel reprocessing facilities. A novel analysis technique called hiRX (high resolution X-ray) has been developed for the direct measurement of Pu in spent nuclear fuel dissolver solutions. hiRX is based on monochromatic wavelength dispersive X-ray fluorescence (MWDXRF), which provides enhanced sensitivity and specificity compared with conventional XRF techniques. A breadboard setup of the hiRX instrument was calibrated using spiked surrogate spent fuel (SSF) standards prepared as dried residues. Samples of actual spent fuel were utilized to evaluate the performance of the hiRX. The direct detection of just 39 ng of Pu is demonstrated. Initial quantitative results, with error of 4–27% and precision of 2% relative standard deviation (RSD), were obtained for spent fuel samples. The limit of detection for Pu (100 s) within an excitation spot of 200 μm diameter was 375 pg. This study demonstrates the potential for the hiRX technique to be utilized for the rapid, accurate, and precise determination of Pu. Moreover, the results highlight the analytical capability of hiRX for other applications requiring sensitive and selective nondestructive analyses.
- Authors:
-
- Los Alamos National Lab. (LANL), Los Alamos, NM (United States)
- Publication Date:
- Research Org.:
- Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL), Los Alamos, NM (United States)
- Sponsoring Org.:
- USDOE
- OSTI Identifier:
- 1312565
- Alternate Identifier(s):
- OSTI ID: 1249982
- Report Number(s):
- LA-UR-14-28020
Journal ID: ISSN 0584-8547
- Grant/Contract Number:
- AC52-06NA25396
- Resource Type:
- Accepted Manuscript
- Journal Name:
- Spectrochimica Acta. Part B, Atomic Spectroscopy
- Additional Journal Information:
- Journal Volume: 110; Journal Issue: C; Journal ID: ISSN 0584-8547
- Publisher:
- Elsevier
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
- Subject:
- 11 NUCLEAR FUEL CYCLE AND FUEL MATERIALS; analytical chemistry; XRF; hiRX; elemental analysis; elemental mapping; spent nuclear fuel
Citation Formats
McIntosh, Kathryn G., Reilly, Sean D., and Havrilla, George J. Determination of plutonium in spent nuclear fuel using high resolution X-ray. United States: N. p., 2015.
Web. doi:10.1016/j.sab.2015.05.014.
McIntosh, Kathryn G., Reilly, Sean D., & Havrilla, George J. Determination of plutonium in spent nuclear fuel using high resolution X-ray. United States. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.sab.2015.05.014
McIntosh, Kathryn G., Reilly, Sean D., and Havrilla, George J. Sat .
"Determination of plutonium in spent nuclear fuel using high resolution X-ray". United States. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.sab.2015.05.014. https://www.osti.gov/servlets/purl/1312565.
@article{osti_1312565,
title = {Determination of plutonium in spent nuclear fuel using high resolution X-ray},
author = {McIntosh, Kathryn G. and Reilly, Sean D. and Havrilla, George J.},
abstractNote = {Characterization of Pu is an essential aspect of safeguards operations at nuclear fuel reprocessing facilities. A novel analysis technique called hiRX (high resolution X-ray) has been developed for the direct measurement of Pu in spent nuclear fuel dissolver solutions. hiRX is based on monochromatic wavelength dispersive X-ray fluorescence (MWDXRF), which provides enhanced sensitivity and specificity compared with conventional XRF techniques. A breadboard setup of the hiRX instrument was calibrated using spiked surrogate spent fuel (SSF) standards prepared as dried residues. Samples of actual spent fuel were utilized to evaluate the performance of the hiRX. The direct detection of just 39 ng of Pu is demonstrated. Initial quantitative results, with error of 4–27% and precision of 2% relative standard deviation (RSD), were obtained for spent fuel samples. The limit of detection for Pu (100 s) within an excitation spot of 200 μm diameter was 375 pg. This study demonstrates the potential for the hiRX technique to be utilized for the rapid, accurate, and precise determination of Pu. Moreover, the results highlight the analytical capability of hiRX for other applications requiring sensitive and selective nondestructive analyses.},
doi = {10.1016/j.sab.2015.05.014},
journal = {Spectrochimica Acta. Part B, Atomic Spectroscopy},
number = C,
volume = 110,
place = {United States},
year = {Sat May 30 00:00:00 EDT 2015},
month = {Sat May 30 00:00:00 EDT 2015}
}
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Works referencing / citing this record:
Non-destructive analysis of samples with a complex geometry by NRTA
journal, January 2020
- Ma, Fei; Kopecky, Stefan; Alaerts, Gery
- Journal of Analytical Atomic Spectrometry, Vol. 35, Issue 3
2016 Atomic Spectrometry Update – a review of advances in X-ray fluorescence spectrometry and its applications
journal, January 2016
- West, Margaret; Ellis, Andrew T.; Potts, Philip J.
- Journal of Analytical Atomic Spectrometry, Vol. 31, Issue 9
A direct and safe method for plutonium determination using total reflection X-ray fluorescence spectrometry
journal, January 2019
- Dhara, Sangita; Sanyal, Kaushik; Paul, Sumana
- Journal of Analytical Atomic Spectrometry, Vol. 34, Issue 2