Determination of zirconium isotope composition and concentration for nuclear sample analysis using Thermal Ionization Mass Spectrometry (CAT#: STEM-ST-0236-LJX)

Introduction

Determination of zirconium concentration and isotope abundance is important for different applications such as life science, geology, environment, forensics or nuclear field. In nuclear applications, zirconium is used as a construction material in nuclear reactors and is a fission product: the radioactive 93Zr isotope is produced mainly by nuclear fission of uranium-235 in nuclear fuel. During the treatment and recycling of spent nuclear fuel, the first step is the shearing where the fuel rods are cut into small pieces. This step involves the separation between the spent fuel and the cladding material, made of zirconium alloy which has a low solubility in a nitric acid media. The dissolution of the spent fuel is effective in hot nitric acid media. The apparition of dissolution fines, in particular of zirconium and molybdenum, can clog the dissolver during the dissolution process or affect the extraction process. Thus, the accurate zirconium isotope analysis is required to determine its origin (construction material or fission product) and to understand the nuclear processes undertaken.