Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jan 15, 2026

Speciation and Bioavailability Measurements of Environmental Plutonium Using Diffusion in Thin Films
Published on: November 9, 2015
Direct spectrophotometric method for simultaneous estimation of Plutonium(IV) and nitric acid concentration in PUREX
Mukesh Kumar1, Saurabh Suman2, K Dhamodharan2
1Reprocessing Design and R&D Group, Reprocessing Group, Indira Gandhi Centre for Atomic Research, Kalpakkam, 603102, Tamilnadu, India; Homi Bhabha National Institute, Anushakthi Nagar, Mumbai, 400094, Maharashtra, India.
Background:
The PUREX process aims at quantitative recovery of U and Pu with fission product decontamination factor in the range of 106. For this purpose, process parameters need to be analysed at different process steps. Therefore concentration of Pu and nitric acid in the feed solution must be known before carrying out any process. Conventional analytical techniques for plutonium and nitric acid determination generate significant quantities of secondary radioactive waste and are time-intensive, increasing the radiation exposure risk for personnel especially in facilities handling short-cooled or high burn-up fuels.Hence, there was a need to develop a new method for determination of both the parameter that should be devoid of above disadvantage.
Results:
An analytical method has been developed for simultaneous determination of Pu(IV) and nitric acid concentration in plutonium nitrate solution for PUREX process samples. Plutonium nitrate absorption spectra changes drastically with the nitric acid concentration. Therefore, without prior knowledge of acidity, quantification of plutonium with direct UV-VIS spectrum is not suitable. Therefore, in present method UV-VIS spectroscopy coupled with chemometric approach being used for utilising these acid induced variations for estimation of nitric acid concentration in a sample along with plutonium concentration. OPLS assisted PCR approach has been used for quantifying the plutonium in the concentration range 1.4-8.4 g/L and nitric acid concentration 1-12 M. OPLS help in making the chemometric model more robust and interpretable. The model has been validated with a test dataset with RMSEV values for prediction of plutonium and nitric acid concentration are 0.24 g/L and 0.21 M respectively.
Significance:
The developed method is simple, fast and reliable. Also, present method is devoid of any analytical waste as sample after analysis can be mixed with the process stream. This method is direct spectrophotometric method and hence amenable for online monitoring.
More Related Videos
08:46Dose Uptake of Platinum- and Ruthenium-based Compound Exposure in Zebrafish by Inductively Coupled Plasma Mass Spectrometry with Broader Applications
Published on: April 21, 2022
07:14Automated, High-resolution Mobile Collection System for the Nitrogen Isotopic Analysis of NOx
Published on: December 20, 2016
Related Concept Videos
Atomic Absorption Spectroscopy: Lab
Solutions containing organic solvents, such as low-molecular-mass alcohols, esters, or ketones, enhance absorbances by increasing...
Atomic Emission Spectroscopy: Lab
Precipitation Titration: Overview
A precipitation titration curve demonstrates the change in concentration of the titrant or analyte upon adding the...
Inductively Coupled Plasma–Mass Spectrometry (ICP–MS): Overview
Precipitation Titration: Endpoint Detection Methods
In the Volhard method, a standard excess of AgNO3 is first added to the...