Plasma parameters in atomic-emission spectral analysis of phosphate concentrates of the fission products

Physical parameters of electric arc plasma as well as their time dependences are calculated when analyzing phosphate precipitates of the fission products of irradiated nuclear fuel. Phosphate concentrates of the fission products are known for their complex chemical composition and high thermal and chemical stability. Hence, direct atomic emission spectral analysis of phosphate powders without transferring them into solutions is advisable. Different conditions of sample preparation and synthesis of the reference materials determine the different chemical forms of the elements to be determined. This, in turn, affects the kinetics of their evaporation in the electrode crate and excitation processes in the plasma. The known mechanisms of those processes cannot always be transferred to specific conditions of the given method of analysis thus entailing the necessity of studying the effect of the samples chemical composition on the results of determination, proper choice of spectroscopic carriers, detailed study of spectra excitation processes in spectral analysis, and analysis of the physical parameters of the electric arc plasma. We used the lines Zn I 307.206 nm and Zn I 307.589 nm to measure the effective temperature of the central hot sections of the arc in a range of4500 - 6500 K. NaCl, BaCl₂ and NaCl + T1C1 were studied to reduce the effect of the sample elemental composition on excitation conditions of the spectra and their stabilization as a spectroscopic carrier. In control experiments we used carrier-free samples. The coincidence of the values of the plasma physical parameters within the measurement error not exceeding 20%, as well as the identity of the nature of the kinetic curves for samples of phosphate precipitates and synthetic reference materials prove their correctness. The result of the study substantiate correctness of the direct atomic-emission spectral procedure in analysis of phosphate concentrates of fission when using synthetic reference materials.

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