Speciation of Uranyl Species in Nitric Acid Medium by Time-Resolved Laser-Induced Fluorescence

Abstract

The aim of this work is the development of an on-line analytical procedure for uranyl trace determination in the nuclear fuel reprocessing process using time-resolved laser-induced fluorescence. Because the uranyl fluorescence spectrum is strongly affected by the nitrate concentration, knowledge of composition of the medium is necessary to normalize measurements. This paper reports the assumptions made on the spectral distortion, leading to a spectral deconvolution model. Uranyl complex formation constants are obtained from the spectral deconvolution and validate the method. In this way, spectral distortion allows the determination of the nitrate concentration with good accuracy.