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EDXRF-based direct non-destructive compositional characterization of actinides in UF4-ThF4-LiF molten salt reactor
Sangita Dhara1, Abhishek Rai2, Kaushik Sanyal1
1Fuel Chemistry Division, Bhabha Atomic Research Centre, Trombay, Mumbai, 400085, India; Homi Bhabha National Institute, Anushaktinagar, Mumbai, 400094, India.
Background:
UF4-ThF4-LiF molten salt system is used as fuel in Molten Salt Reactors (MSRs), which is a class of advanced Generation IV reactors. Determination of the actinides in the MSR fuel is a crucial part of the chemical quality control for nuclear fuels. Development of non-destructive, direct methods of analysis has several advantages including non alteration of the fuel matrix thereby, preserving the precious material for further use. Simple glove box compatible sample preparation methodologies are the need of the hour. Therefore, development and implementation of robust, simple, non-destructive characterization methods are indispensable. Hence, EDXRF based non-destructive method for compositional characterization of U and Th in UF4-ThF4-LiF molten salt fuels has been developed successfully for the routine analysis.
Results:
Three different glovebox friendly sample preparation strategies for analysis of samples in form of slurry, suspension and powders have been developed. The analytical results obtained using EDXRF were compared with micro-XRF. EDXRF analytical results has a precision of 0.4% (n = 6) and the degree of trueness is 0.7%.
Significance:
The analytical results obtained using EDXRF are comparable to wet analytical methods with added advantage of no sample dissolution and zero generation of radio-analytical waste. The developed analytical methods can be easily extended to operations inside gloveboxes.
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