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Yadav AG, Mohapatra PK, Valsala TP, Sathe DB, Bhatt RB. Highly efficient separation of Am(III) and Pu(IV) from lean feeds and soil using an extraction chromatographic resin containing a diglycolamide in an ionic liquid. J Chromatogr A 2023; 1707:464299. [PMID: 37597478 DOI: 10.1016/j.chroma.2023.464299] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/10/2023] [Accepted: 08/12/2023] [Indexed: 08/21/2023]
Abstract
A TODGA based extraction chromatographic resin containing an ionic liquid was used for the separation of actinide ions such as Am3+ and Pu4+ from samples such as lean effluents emanating from laboratory waste, environmental water as well as soil samples adjacent to a nuclear plant site. The methodology involved feed adjustment to 3 M HNO3 followed by conditioning of the column, loading, washing (3 M HNO3), and elution of the actinide ions. The elution of Am3+ was done using EDTA in a buffered medium (1 M guanidine carbonate) while that of Pu4+ was carried out using a mixture of 0.5 M oxalic acid and 0.5 M HNO3. The elution peaks were sharp with almost no tailing suggesting the efficiency of the separation method. The results obtained were compared with the literature results which suggested the high efficiency of the present method.
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Affiliation(s)
- Akalesh G Yadav
- Advanced Fuel Fabrication Facility, Nuclear Recycles Board, Tarapur, Maharashtra 401502, India; Homi Bhabha National Institute, Anushakti Nagar, Mumbai 400094, India
| | - Prasanta K Mohapatra
- Homi Bhabha National Institute, Anushakti Nagar, Mumbai 400094, India; Radiochemistry Division, Bhabha Atomic Research Centre, Trombay, Mumbai 400085, India.
| | - Thichur P Valsala
- Advanced Fuel Fabrication Facility, Nuclear Recycles Board, Tarapur, Maharashtra 401502, India
| | - Darshan B Sathe
- Advanced Fuel Fabrication Facility, Nuclear Recycles Board, Tarapur, Maharashtra 401502, India
| | - Raj B Bhatt
- Advanced Fuel Fabrication Facility, Nuclear Recycles Board, Tarapur, Maharashtra 401502, India
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Xing S, Peng C, Christl M, Shi K, Synal HA, Hou X. Simultaneous Determination of Transuranium Radionuclides for Nuclear Forensics by Compact Accelerator Mass Spectrometry. Anal Chem 2023; 95:3647-3655. [PMID: 36763009 DOI: 10.1021/acs.analchem.2c04544] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/11/2023]
Abstract
Accelerator mass spectrometry (AMS) is one of the most sensitive techniques used to measure the long-lived actinides. This is particularly of interest for determination of ultra-trace transuranium nuclides and their isotopic fingerprints for nuclear forensics. In this work, a new method was developed for simultaneous determination of transuranium nuclides (Np, Pu, Am, and Cm isotopes) by using 300 kV AMS after a sequential chemical separation of each group of actinides. 242Pu and 243Am were utilized as tracers for Np/Pu and Am/Cm yield monitoring. The results show that the chemical behaviors of Np and Pu on the TK200 column and those of Am and Cm on the DGA column were very consistent in 8-9 mol/L of HNO3 and 0.015-0.03 mol/L of NaNO2 media during the radiochemical separation. The AMS detection efficiencies for transuranium nuclides were also evaluated. The detection limits for all radionuclides are below femtogram level and even in attogram level for Pu and Cm isotopes. The established method has been successfully applied to accurately measure various transuranium nuclides in a single actinide radionuclide solution, demonstrating its feasibility for nuclear forensic investigation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shan Xing
- Frontiers Science Center for Rare Isotopes, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou 730000, P. R. China.,School of Nuclear Science and Technology, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou 730000, P. R. China.,China Institute for Radiation Protection, Taiyuan 030000, P. R. China
| | - Chenyang Peng
- Frontiers Science Center for Rare Isotopes, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou 730000, P. R. China.,School of Nuclear Science and Technology, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou 730000, P. R. China
| | - Marcus Christl
- Laboratory of Ion Beam Physics, ETH Zurich, Zurich 8093, Switzerland
| | - Keliang Shi
- Frontiers Science Center for Rare Isotopes, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou 730000, P. R. China.,School of Nuclear Science and Technology, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou 730000, P. R. China
| | - Hans-Arno Synal
- Laboratory of Ion Beam Physics, ETH Zurich, Zurich 8093, Switzerland
| | - Xiaolin Hou
- Frontiers Science Center for Rare Isotopes, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou 730000, P. R. China.,School of Nuclear Science and Technology, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou 730000, P. R. China
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Zhang H, Hou X, Qiao J, Lin J. Determination of 241Am in Environmental Samples: A Review. Molecules 2022; 27:molecules27144536. [PMID: 35889408 PMCID: PMC9315525 DOI: 10.3390/molecules27144536] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/27/2022] [Revised: 07/11/2022] [Accepted: 07/12/2022] [Indexed: 02/04/2023] Open
Abstract
The determination of 241Am in the environment is of importance in monitoring its release and assessing its environmental impact and radiological risk. This paper aims to give an overview about the recent developments and the state-of-art analytical methods for 241Am determination in environmental samples. Thorough discussions are given in this paper covering a wide range of aspects, including sample pre-treatment and pre-concentration methods, chemical separation techniques, source preparation, radiometric and mass spectrometric measurement techniques, speciation analyses, and tracer applications. The paper focuses on some hyphenated separation methods based on different chromatographic resins, which have been developed to achieve high analytical efficiency and sample throughput for the determination of 241Am. The performances of different radiometric and mass spectrometric measurement techniques for 241Am are evaluated and compared. Tracer applications of 241Am in the environment, including speciation analyses of 241Am, and applications in nuclear forensics are also discussed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Haitao Zhang
- Northwest Institute of Nuclear Technology, Xi’an 710024, China; (H.Z.); (J.L.)
| | - Xiaolin Hou
- Department of Environmental and Resource Engineering, Technical University of Denmark, DTU Risø Campus, 4000 Roskilde, Denmark;
| | - Jixin Qiao
- Department of Environmental and Resource Engineering, Technical University of Denmark, DTU Risø Campus, 4000 Roskilde, Denmark;
- Correspondence:
| | - Jianfeng Lin
- Northwest Institute of Nuclear Technology, Xi’an 710024, China; (H.Z.); (J.L.)
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Paul S, Pandey AK, Shah RV, Aggarwal SK. Chemically selective polymer substrate based direct isotope dilution alpha spectrometry of Pu. Anal Chim Acta 2015; 878:54-62. [PMID: 26002326 DOI: 10.1016/j.aca.2015.04.046] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/25/2015] [Revised: 04/19/2015] [Accepted: 04/23/2015] [Indexed: 10/23/2022]
Abstract
Quantification of actinides in the complex environmental, biological, process and waste streams samples requires multiple steps like selective preconcentration and matrix elimination, solid source preparations generally by evaporation or electrodeposition, and finally alpha spectrometry. To minimize the sample manipulation steps, a membrane based isotope dilution alpha spectrometry method was developed for the determination of plutonium concentrations in the complex aqueous solutions. The advantages of this method are that it is Pu(IV) selective at 3M HNO3, high preconcentration factor can be achieved, and obviates the need of solid source preparation. For this, a thin phosphate-sulfate bifunctional polymer layer was anchored on the surface of microporous poly(ethersulfone) membrane by UV induced surface grafting. The thickness of the bifunctional layer on one surface of the poly(ethersulfone) membrane was optimized. The thickness, physical and chemical structures of the bifunctional layer were studied by secondary ionization mass spectrometry (SIMS), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and SEM-EDS (energy-dispersive spectroscopy). The optimized membrane was used for preconcentration of Pu(IV) from aqueous solutions having 3-4M HNO3, followed by direct quantification of the preconcentrated Pu(IV) by isotope dilution alpha spectrometry using (238)Pu spike. The chemical recovery efficiency of Pu(IV) was found to be 86±3% below Pu(IV) loading capacity (1.08 μg in 2×1 cm(2)) of the membrane sample. The experiments with single representative actinides indicated that Am(III) did not sorb to significant extent (7%) but U(VI) sorbed with 78±3% efficiency from the solutions having 3M HNO3 concentration. However, Pu(IV) chemical recovery in the membrane remained unaffected from the solution containing 1:1000 wt. proportion of Pu(IV) to U(VI). Pu concentrations in the (U, Pu)C samples and in the irradiated fuel dissolver solutions were determined. The results thus obtained were found to be in good agreement with those obtained by conventional alpha spectrometry, biamperometry and thermal ionization mass spectrometry.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sumana Paul
- Fuel Chemistry Division, Bhabha Atomic Research Centre, Trombay, Mumbai 400 085, India.
| | - Ashok K Pandey
- Radiochemistry Division, Bhabha Atomic Research Centre, Trombay, Mumbai 400 085, India
| | - R V Shah
- Fuel Chemistry Division, Bhabha Atomic Research Centre, Trombay, Mumbai 400 085, India
| | - S K Aggarwal
- Fuel Chemistry Division, Bhabha Atomic Research Centre, Trombay, Mumbai 400 085, India.
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Paul S, Pandey AK, Kumar P, Kaity S, Aggarwal SK. Tailored bifunctional polymer for plutonium monitoring. Anal Chem 2014; 86:6254-61. [PMID: 24901969 DOI: 10.1021/ac501509t] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/17/2023]
Abstract
Monitoring of actinides with sophisticated conventional methods is affected by matrix interferences, spectral interferences, isobaric interferences, polyatomic interferences, and abundance sensitivity problems. To circumvent these limitations, a self-supported disk and membrane-supported bifunctional polymer were tailored in the present work for acidity-dependent selectivity toward Pu(IV). The bifunctional polymer was found to be better than the polymer containing either a phosphate group or a sulfonic acid group in terms of (i) higher Pu(IV) sorption efficiency at 3-4 mol L(-1) HNO3, (ii) selective preconcentration of Pu(IV) in the presence of a trivalent actinide such as Am(III), and (iii) preferential sorption of Pu(IV) in the presence of a large excess of U(VI). The bifunctional polymer was formed as a self-supported matrix by bulk polymerization and also as a 1-2 μm thin layer anchored on a microporous poly(ether sulfone) by surface grafting. The proportions of sulfonic acid and phosphate groups in both the self-supported disk and membrane-supported bifunctional polymer were found to be the same as expected from the mole proportions of monomers in polymerizing solutions used for syntheses. α radiography by a solid-state nuclear track detector indicated fairly homogeneous anchoring of the bifunctional polymer on the surface of the membrane. Pu(IV) preconcentrated on a single bifunctional bead was used for determination of the Pu isotopic composition by thermal ionization mass spectrometry. The membrane-supported bifunctional polymer was used for preconcentration and subsequent quantification of Pu(IV) by α spectrometry using the absolute efficiency at a fixed counting geometry. The analytical performance of the membrane-supported-bifunctional-polymer-based α spectrometry method was found to be highly reproducible for assay of Pu(IV) in a variety of complex samples.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sumana Paul
- Fuel Chemistry Division, ‡Radiochemistry Division, and §Radiometallurgy Division, Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC) , Trombay, Mumbai-400 085, India
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