Zirconium sponge production: an integrated approach for chemical characterization of process intermediates using ICP-OES
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Yarasi Balaji Rao
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Sirivella N. V. M. S. Gupta
Abstract
The present paper discusses about the method developed for complete chemical characterization of Zirconium Washed and Dried Frit (WDF) and Reactor Grade ZrO2 powder which includes nonmetallic element sulphur using Inductively Coupled Plasma Optical Emission Spectrometer (ICP-OES). Studies have been carried-out on several important aspects of method development such as effect of matrix on determination of analytes, removal of matrix using different solvents, selection of interference free & sensitive wavelengths, calibration strategies like internal standard & standard addition, optimization of several instrumental parameters which includes RF power, plasma gas flow, nebulizer gas flow, nitrogen purging etc., and are discussed. A % RSD of less than 1 % for Zr and up to 3 % for other elements has been achieved in this method. The developed method has been validated using standard recovery of spiked real time samples with known amount of reference materials. Integrated approach adopted in the development of this method has resulted in reduction of analytical waste generated and also enabled to give quick analytical feedback to production plant for downstream processing.
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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.
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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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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
