Polarographic determination of uranium in TBP-kerosene in the reprocessing of nuclear fuel

In the reprocessing of irradiated uranium (Purex process) now in planning in Japan Atomic Energy Res. Inst., it becomes necessary to determine uranium extracted in TBP-kerosene, and a polarographic method has been proposed for this purpose. Less than 1 g of the sample, TBP-kerosene solution, is weighed into a electrolytic cell, and 10.0 ml of the supporting electrolyte (mixture of 100 ml of 2N sulfuric acid, 90 ml of ethyl alcohol and 10 ml of 0.4% Tween-80 ethyl alcohol solution) is added. The solution is mixed and deaerated by passing nitrogen for about 10 minutes, and then it is subjected to polarography (-0.6-1.2 V vs. Hg). The proposed method is simple and suitable for remote handling. Ten to 80 mg of uranium in up to 1 g of TBP-kerosene can be determined without the effects of radiation damage.