Determination of 10B/11B in boric acid and B4C using LA-ICPMS
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Maity Ujjwal Kumar
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Namitha Janarthanam
Abstract
Boron isotopic ratio measurement is very important in the nuclear industry because it is used as neutron poison (in the form of boric acid or a B4C pellet) and control rod material (B4C pellet) in nuclear power plants. Since 10B has a higher neutron absorption cross-section, enriched 10B is used in the nuclear industry and the extent of enrichment varies from 50–90 %. Therefore, it is essential to determine the 10B/11B ratio in boric acid and B4C. The prime purpose of the present study is to utilize LA-ICPMS for evaluating 10B/11B ratio both in solution (boric acid) and solid (B4C pellet) without any pre-treatment so that the difficulty in dissolution or powdering process of B4C (one of the hardest materials) can be avoided and the B4C pellet can be reused. The results obtained from LA-ICPMS for the B4C pellet are discussed and compared with the solution ICPMS, TIMS, and LIMS. The solutions of boric acid (natural abundance) and dissolved B4C (natural & ∼67 % enriched isotopic composition) were analyzed by LA-ICPMS and validated by liquid sampling ICPMS data.
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Research ethics: Not applicable.
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Author contributions: The authors have accepted responsibility for the entire content of this manuscript and approved its submission. Maity U. K. - Conceptualize, experiment, data analysis, manuscript writing, editing; Namitha J. - Experiment, data analysis, manuscript writing, editing; Bavya P. - Experiment, data analysis; Ushalakshmi K.- Experiment, data analysis; Manoravi P. - Original idea, manuscript editing, Viajyalakshmi S.- Manuscript editing.
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Competing interests: The authors state no conflict of interest.
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Research funding: None declared.
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Data availability: The raw data can be obtained on request from the corresponding author.
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© 2024 Walter de Gruyter GmbH, Berlin/Boston
Articles in the same Issue
- Frontmatter
- Preface
- NUCAR-2023: Foreword
- Research Articles
- Theoretical analysis of light and heavy-ion induced reactions: production of medically relevant 97Ru
- Excitation functions of alpha-particle induced nuclear reactions on nat Sn
- Non-destructive assay of plutonium in absence of gamma-ray spectrometry
- Catalytic destruction of oxalate in the supernatant stream generated during plutonium reconversion process
- Quantification of Zr in simulated dissolver solution of U–Zr fuel by laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy
- Radiochemical and chemical characterization of fuel, salt, and deposit from the electrorefining of irradiated U-6 wt% Zr in hot cells
- Zirconium sponge production: an integrated approach for chemical characterization of process intermediates using ICP-OES
- Determination of 10B/11B in boric acid and B4C using LA-ICPMS
- Evaluating sustainability of Bhuj aquifer system, Western India using nuclear dating techniques
- Nanocrystalline Ce(OH)4-based materials: ruthenium selective adsorbent for highly alkaline radioactive liquid waste
- Production and radiochemical separation of 68Ge from irradiated Ga–Ni alloy target in 30 MeV cyclotron
- Preparation of [64Cu]Cu–NOTA complex as a potential renal PET imaging agent using 64Cu produced via the direct activation route
- Total chemical synthesis of PSMA-617: an API for prostate cancer endotherapeutic applications
- Rapid screening technique for gross α and gross β estimations in aqueous samples during radiation emergency
- Development of Dy3+ doped lithium magnesium borate glass system for thermoluminescence based neutron dosimetry applications
Articles in the same Issue
- Frontmatter
- Preface
- NUCAR-2023: Foreword
- Research Articles
- Theoretical analysis of light and heavy-ion induced reactions: production of medically relevant 97Ru
- Excitation functions of alpha-particle induced nuclear reactions on nat Sn
- Non-destructive assay of plutonium in absence of gamma-ray spectrometry
- Catalytic destruction of oxalate in the supernatant stream generated during plutonium reconversion process
- Quantification of Zr in simulated dissolver solution of U–Zr fuel by laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy
- Radiochemical and chemical characterization of fuel, salt, and deposit from the electrorefining of irradiated U-6 wt% Zr in hot cells
- Zirconium sponge production: an integrated approach for chemical characterization of process intermediates using ICP-OES
- Determination of 10B/11B in boric acid and B4C using LA-ICPMS
- Evaluating sustainability of Bhuj aquifer system, Western India using nuclear dating techniques
- Nanocrystalline Ce(OH)4-based materials: ruthenium selective adsorbent for highly alkaline radioactive liquid waste
- Production and radiochemical separation of 68Ge from irradiated Ga–Ni alloy target in 30 MeV cyclotron
- Preparation of [64Cu]Cu–NOTA complex as a potential renal PET imaging agent using 64Cu produced via the direct activation route
- Total chemical synthesis of PSMA-617: an API for prostate cancer endotherapeutic applications
- Rapid screening technique for gross α and gross β estimations in aqueous samples during radiation emergency
- Development of Dy3+ doped lithium magnesium borate glass system for thermoluminescence based neutron dosimetry applications
