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Determining P, S, Br, and I content in uranium by triple quadrupole inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry

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Abstract

The trace impurities of a uranium ore concentrate (UOC) can be examined to determine mine source, methods of production, and quality. This study presents a method to determine the concentration of halides and main group elements, specifically P, S, Br and I, utilizing triple quadrupole inductively coupled plasma–mass spectrometry. These analytes were measured in a uranium matrix to simulate a UOC sample. The concentrations determined with this method showed agreement with known values. Solutions with and without uranium were compared. A UOC certified reference material, CUP-2, was analyzed to further demonstrate the effectiveness of the method.

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Acknowledgements

This work was supported by the Department of Energy’s National Nuclear Security Administration under contract DE-AC05-00OR22725 with UT-Battelle, LLC. Oak Ridge National Laboratory is managed by UT-Battelle for the Department of Energy under Contract DE-AC05-000R22725. The US government retains and the publisher, by accepting the article for publication, acknowledges that the US government retains a nonexclusive, paid-up, irrevocable, worldwide license to publish or reproduce the published form of this manuscript, or allow others to do so, for US government purposes. DOE will provide public access to these results of federally sponsored research in accordance with the DOE Public Access Plan (http://energy.gov/downloads/doe-public-access-plan).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Chemistry Department, University of Tennessee, 1416 Circle Drive, 37916, Knoxville, TN, USA

    Nathaniel D. Fletcher

  2. Chemical Sciences Division, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, 1 Bethel Valley Road, 37830, Oak Ridge, TN, USA

    Benjamin T. Manard, Shalina C. Metzger, Brian W. Ticknor, Debra A. Bostick & Cole R. Hexel

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  1. Nathaniel D. Fletcher
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  2. Benjamin T. Manard
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  3. Shalina C. Metzger
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  6. Cole R. Hexel
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Correspondence to Cole R. Hexel.

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Fletcher, N.D., Manard, B.T., Metzger, S.C. et al. Determining P, S, Br, and I content in uranium by triple quadrupole inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry. J Radioanal Nucl Chem 324, 395–402 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10967-020-07057-0

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10967-020-07057-0

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