Year
1993
Abstract
An automated analytical system for input solution samples has been developed to increase analytical capability and to improve timeliness of measurements in a future large scale reprocessing plant. The original automated analytical system for input solution samples was composed of three subsystems for sample preparation together with a mass spectrometer and an alpha-ray spectrometer. This system was modified to meet the specifications for a large scale reprocessing plant and for the practical use of LSD (Large Size Dry) spike in input analysis. By adding the functions of subsystem 2 (ion-exchange separation) to the original subsystem 1, the latter was modified to work from sample aliquoting to ion-exchange separation. The components included in the modified subsystem 1+2 are contained in an envelop the size of the original subsystem 1. This was accomplished by miniaturizing the equipment and making the preparation procedures more effective. The subsystems basically consist of Cartesian robots with other necessary components. In subsystem 1+2, small duplicate samples are placed into two beakers, one of which contains an LSD spike. The valency state of Plutonium in the samples is subsequently adjusted to be tetravalent. Uranium in the samples is then separated from the plutonium by an anion exchange separation technique. In subsystem 3, a small quantity of each separated fraction is placed on a mass spectrometer filament by a loading device where the fraction is automatically dried. In addition, a small quantity of the plutonium fraction is deposited on a counting dish for alpha-ray spectrometry. Using precisely known amounts of uranium and plutonium mixtures, the analytical results for concentrations of both elements obtained by this system exhibited 0.4 to 0.6X in both precision and accuracy. After modification, the time required for sample preparation was shortened from 18 to 10 hours.