Solid phase separation and ICP-OES/ICP-MS determination of rare earth impurities in nuclear grade uranium oxide

Abstract

A simple, effective and low cost solid phase extraction procedure was standardized for the trace and ultra-trace level determination of rare earth impurities, such as, Ce, Dy, Sm, Gd, Eu, Er etc. which act as neutron poisons, in nuclear grade uranium oxide (U3O8 > 99.9% by weight). The method involves selective separation of these elements as their fluorides with the help of activated charcoal from major uranium matrix followed by determination by ICP-MS and high resolution ICP-OES. The residual uranium content of the solution was <10 μg/mL. The recovery of REEs ranges from 85 to 105%. The method was validated with nuclear grade uranium oxide standards CRM-I to CRM-V (BARC, Mumbai, India) in addition to some synthetic standards. The RSD of the method was ±12% (n = 3).