STUDIES OF URANIUM-CERIUM ADMIXTURE SOLUTIONS BY EDXRF SPECTROSCOPY

Uranium and cerium were studied in nitric acid solutions after present ation to an energy-dispersive x-ray fluorescence (EDXRF) spectrometer on filter-paper fixed on Scotch tape, Ce L alpha and U L alpha peaks w ere used as analyte lines after excitation with a tungsten tube target at low potential (20 kV), These non-conventional excitation condition s were considered to be suitable for low contents of cerium strongly b ut high contents of uranium weakly in a nuclear fuel, Lower net integr ated line intensities observed in an actinide as compared with a lanth anide are discussed along with the scattered, Auger and Coster-Kronig intensities responsible for the production of back-ground before calib rations with known concentrations, Difficulties in establishing an exp licit relationship between these with change in matrix composition are discussed, The known concentrations of the mixed solutions when compa red with the results from various computer programs using regression a nalysis showed that the algorithm developed by Plesch and Thiele for S iemens is better than the others, An accuracy of <2% was achieved, The importance of certified, standard or simulated reference materials is realized for quality analysis of occasional samples.