An overview of spectrometric techniques and sample preparation for the determination of impurities in uranium nuclear fuel grade

This review is focused on the impurities determination in uranium nuclear fuel grade matrix with the use of spectrometric methods. It is known that uranium is the major element and material for the sustainable use in the nuclear energy. The optimized use of this technology involves the improvement of several processes to power generation. With regard of fuel reliability, the chemical characterization combined with environmental protection is particularly important in the uranium production cycle or in the nuclear fuel cycle, subject to an increasing number of international conventions and protocols. The performance of nuclear fuel in reactors depends mainly on the chemical composition of its impurities and its estimation is important from the point of view of neutron economy. Among the instrumental analytical techniques commonly used for the determination of elemental impurities in uranium compounds spectrometric techniques are commonly used, such as FAAS, GFAAS, ICP OES and ICP-MS. Usually, it is necessary in a previous uranium separation and preconcentration of the impurities for elemental determination. Thus, the aim of this review is to give an overview of the main process using sample preparation, separation and preconcentration of analytes for the instrumental determination. (C) 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.