Determination of uranium in process stream solutions from uranium extraction plant employing energy dispersive X-ray fluorescence spectrometry

Abstract

Energy dispersive X-Ray fluorescence (EDXRFS) method is developed and standardized for the determination of uranium on routine basis in various process stream solutions, covering a vide range of concentrations from 0.1 to 400 g L−1, from an Uranium Extraction Plant at Nuclear Fuel Complex. The method has been applied to aqueous stream samples. Except for dilution, no much sample preparation was involved in the analysis and accordingly the experimental parameters were optimized. The calibration curve in the range of 0.1–10 g L−1 of U was drawn manually using synthetic standard solutions prepared from U3O8 powder and Lα (13.61 keV) line of uranium was used for the measurements. The results from EDXRFS method are compared with other methods and are found to be in good agreement. The EDXRFS measurements carried over a range of 0.1–350 g L−1 of uranium have shown a RSD of ±1–5%. Also, the limitations of reported methods in literature and the advantages of present method are highlighted in the paper.