Quantitative analysis of UF4 and ThF4 in Indian MSR fuel using laser induced breakdown spectroscopy

• Published in: Spectrochimica acta. Part B: Atomic spectroscopy 2024-08, Vol.218, p.106977, Article 106977
• Main Authors: Banerjee, Anannya, Mohan, Anandhu, Mukherjee, Sumanta, Parida, S.C., Sarkar, Arnab
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Calibration; Chemometrics; Fuel; LIBS; MSR; PLSR; Thorium; Uranium
• ISSN: 0584-8547; 1873-3565
• DOI: 10.1016/j.sab.2024.106977

The Molten Salt Reactor (MSR) represents a significant addition to India's clean energy initiative through nuclear energy. Noteworthy for its inherent safety features and the utilization of mixed fluoride salts (U, Th, Li) as molten-liquid fuel, this reactor stands out as a unique advancement. This paper showcases the application of Laser-Induced Breakdown Spectroscopy (LIBS) to ensure the chemical composition of the fuel. The micro-destructive nature of the analysis, minimal sample preparation requirements and the potential for remote analysis position LIBS as a viable alternative to Inductively Coupled Plasma Mass Spectrometry (ICP-MS). The study encompasses the quantification of UF4 and ThF4, demonstrating both univariate and multivariate chemometrics calibration approaches. Various normalization methods on the raw spectral data are explored, and the results are meticulously compared. Upon evaluating different analytical methods, the optimal accuracy and precision achieved were in the range of approximately 2.6% and 3.9% for UF4, and about 0.4% and 0.5% for ThF4, respectively. This underscores the effectiveness of LIBS in ensuring the accurate determination of chemical composition in the context of MSR fuel. [Display omitted] •LIBS was used for quantitative characterization of Indian MSR fuel.•Different pre-processing & fitting models have been systematically compared.•SEC and SEP were used for different model quality comparison.•For UF4 and ThF4, precision of 3.9% and 0.5% was obtained respectively.