• Journal of Radiation Protection and Research
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• v.24 no.1
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• pp.1-7
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• 1999

Using the TBP slovent extraction method, a simple and precise method for determining uranium isotopes in the environment samples was developed. The soil sample was decomposed with $HNO_3$ and HF. Uranium isotopes were extracted with 15% TBP in $CCl_4$ from aqueous phase to organic phase, and Th fraction was removed with 8M HCl. Uranium fraction was purified in back extraction step with 1M HCl. Optimized electrode position conditions of uranium Isotopes were set using a new electrode position solution including a DTPA chelating agent. The new method of uranium isotopes determination was validated with a result of application to IAEA Reference Soils.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.54 no.12
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• pp.4636-4643
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• 2022

A time-of-flight and energy (TOF-E) detection system for the measurement of ²³⁶U accelerator mass spectrometry (AMS) has been developed to improve the ²³⁶U/²³⁸U sensitivity at Micro Analysis Laboratory, Tandem accelerator (MALT), The University of Tokyo. With observing TOF distribution of ²³⁵U, ²³⁶U and ²³⁸U, this TOF-E detection system has clearly separated ²³⁶U from the interference of ²³⁵U and ²³⁸U when measuring three kinds of uranium standards. In addition, we have developed a novel method combining kernel-based density estimation method and multi-Gaussian fitting method to estimate the ²³⁶U/²³⁸U sensitivity of the TOF-E detection system. Using this new estimation method, 3.4 × 10^-12 of ²³⁶U/²³⁸U sensitivity and 1.9 ns of time resolution are obtained. ²³⁶U/²³⁸U sensitivity of TOF-E detection system has improved two orders of magnitude better than that of previous gas ionization chamber. Moreover, unknown species other than uranium isotopes were also observed in the measurement of a surface soil sample, which has demonstrated that TOF-E detection system has a higher sensitivity in particle identification. With its high sensibility in mass determination, this TOF-E detection system could also be used in other heavy isotope AMS.

• Economic and Environmental Geology
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• v.31 no.3
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• pp.265-271
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• 1998

In the hydrologic and hydrochemical studies of natural waters, oxygen and hydrogen isotope compositions of waters are very important to elucidate the origin and circulation pattern of water in the hydrologic system. The hydrogen isotope analysis of waters usually has been undertaken through the reduction of water to form hydrogen gas using pure metals (in general, zinc and uranium). In 1996, a new apparatus (H/Device) was developed to prepare the water samples (by the reduction with Cr metal) without some intrinsic problems that may yield incorrect and/or inaccurate data, and was installed at 1997 in the Center for Mineral Resources Research (CMR) in Korea University. However, the optimistic conditions of preparation and analysis of samples has not been established. In this paper, we introduce the efficiency of H/Device to obtain accurate hydrogen isotope values of water, and discuss both the optimum conditions including the effective reduction time and the probable mixing (memory) effect between successive samples. We obtained large amounts of a laboratory working standard (KUW; Korea University Water) with the average ${\delta}D_{SMOW}$ value of $-42.1{\pm}1.0$‰ $(1{\sigma})$.

• Economic and Environmental Geology
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• v.17 no.4
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• pp.289-298
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• 1984

Uraniferous black slates of the Okchon sequence occur in Koesan (northeast) through Miwon-Boun (middle) to the southwest off Taejon (southwest) within the Okchon fold belt. The Uraniferous balck slates in the southwest off Taejon are particularly well developed in Chubu (northeast) and Moksso-ri (middle) areas whereas they are less developed in Jinsan (southwest) area. The uraniferous beds range from less than a meter to 40 meters in thickness and range from less than 0.02% $U_3O_8$ (cut-off-grade) to 0.05% $U_3O_8$ in the southwestern district off Taejon. Electron microprobe analysis of uranium-minerals found in graphitic slate samples enables to estimate their major compositions semi-quantitatively so that uraninite, ferro-uranophane and chlopinite are tentatively identified. Uranium-minerals are closely associated with carbon and metal sulfides. Correlation analysis of trace element concentrations revealed that U and F.C., and U and Mo are lineary correlative respectively and their correlation coefficients are positively high whereas those of U and V, U and Mn, and U and Zr are negatively low, implying that uranium mineralization has been closely related with concentrations of carbon and molybdenum. Stable isotope analyses of pyrite sulfur range widely from +11.5% to -23.3% in ${\delta}^{34}S$ values whereas those of graphite carbon fall within a narrow range between -23.3% and -28.9% in ${\delta}^{13}C$ values. The wide range of ${\delta}^{34}S$ values suggests that the sulfur could be of meteoric origin rather than of igneous source. The narrow range of ${\delta}^{13}C$ values, which are close to those of coal, indicates that the graphite is organic carbon in origin. Therefore, it is concluded that the uranium mineralization in the Okchon sequence took place primarily in sedimentary environment rich in organic matter and sulfide ion, both of which served as the reducing agents to convert soluble uranyl complex to insoluble uranium dioxide.

• Analytical Science and Technology
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• v.21 no.6
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• pp.487-494
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• 2008

An experiment was performed for zone refined Re-filament and normal (nonzone refined) Re-filament to reduce the background effect on the measurement of low level uranium samples. From both filaments, the signals which seemed to come from a cluster of light alkali elements, $(^{39}K_6)^+$, $(^{39}K_5+^{41}K)^+$ and $PbO_2$ were identified as the isobaric effect of the uranium isotopes. The isobaric effect signal was completely disappeared by heating the filament about $2000^{\circ}C$ at < $10^{-7}$ torr of vacuum for more than 1.5 hour in zone refined Refilaments, while that from the normal Re-filaments was not disappeared completely and was still remained as 3 pg. of uranium as the impurities after the degassing treatment was performed for more than 5 hours at the same condition of zone refined filaments. A threshold condition eliminating impurities were proved to be at 5 A and 30 minutes of degassing time. The uranium content as an impurity in rhenium filament was checked with a filament degassing treatment using the U-233 spike by isotope dilution mass spectrometry. A 0.31 ng of U was detected in rhenium filament without degassing, while only 3 pg of U was detected with baking treatment at a current of 5.5 A for 1 hr. Using normal Re-filaments for the ultra trace of uranium sample analysis had something problem because uranium remains to be 3 pg on the filament even though degassed for long hours. If the 1 ng uranium were measured, 0.3% error occurred basically. It was also conformed that ionization filament current was recommended not to be increased over 5.5 A to reduce the background. Finally, the contents of uranium isotopes in uranium standard materials (KRISS standard material and NIST standard materials, U-005 and U-030) were measured and compared with certified values. The differences between them showed 0.04% for U-235, 2% for U-234 and 2% for U-236, respectively.

• Journal of Hydrogen and New Energy
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• v.26 no.6
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• pp.541-546
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• 2015

Global energy shortage problem is expected to increase driven by strong energy demand growth from developing countries. Nuclear fusion power offers the prospect of an almost infinite source of energy for future generations. Hydrogen isotope storage and delivery system is a important subsystem of a nuclear fusion fuel cycle. Metal hydride is a method of the high-density storage of hydrogen isotope. For the safety storage of hydrogen isotope, depleted uranium (DU) has been widely proposed. But DU needs a safe test because It is a radioactive substance. The authors studied a small-scale DU bed and a medium-scale DU bed for the safety test. And then we made a large-scale DU bed and stored hydrogen isotopes in the bed. Before the hydriding/dehydriding, we tested it's heating and cooling properties and carried out an activation procedure. As a result, Reaction rate of DU-$H_2$ is more rapid than the other metal hydride ZrCo. Through the successful storage result of our large bed, the development possibility of the hydrogen isotope storage technology seems promising.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.48 no.3
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• pp.719-726
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• 2016

The problem of separation of isotopes in a concurrent gas centrifuge is solved analytically for an arbitrary binary mixture of isotopes. The separative power of the optimised concurrent gas centrifuges for the uranium isotopes equals to ${\delta}U=12.7(V/700m/s)^2(300K/T)(L/1m)kg{\cdot}SWU/yr$, where L and V are the length and linear velocity of the rotor of the gas centrifuge and T is the temperature. This equation agrees well with the empirically determined separative power of optimised counter-current gas centrifuges.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.25 no.2
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• pp.259-264
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• 1993

Ion chromatographic method has been applied for burnup measurement of irradiated nuclear fuel by dynamic system using 1-octanesulfonate as a cation exchanger and $\alpha$-hydroxyisobutyric acid as an eluant. A number of elution techniques were evaluated for the optimum separation of plutonium, uranium and neodymium. These elements were individually separated and collected by gradient elution between 0.05 M and 0.40 M of $\alpha$-hydroxyisobutyric acid in a single column, and finally determined by isotope dilution mass spectrometry. The burnup data from this method were compared with those from conventional anion exchange method. The results showed a good agreement within 3.5 % of difference between two methods.

• Journal of Korea Foundry Society
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• v.27 no.5
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• pp.224-227
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• 2007

원자로에 장전되는 $^{99}Mo$ 조사표적을 제조하기 위한 우라늄박판은, 박판 품질, 생산성, 경제성 문제로 인해, 기존의 열간압연방법에 의해 실험실 규모로는 제조가 가능하나, 상용 규모로는 제조되기 어려운 실정이므로, 새로운 제조방법의 개발이 요구되고 있다. 이와 같은 상황에서, $^{99m}Tc$의 모핵종인 방사선 동위원소$^{99}Mo$ 생산하기 위하여 planar flow casting (PFC) 법에 의해 다결정질 우라늄박판에 대한 새로운 제조방법이 연구되었다. $100{\sim}150\;{\mu}m$의 두께 및 너비 약 50mm의 연속적인 다결정질 우라늄박판이 하나의 batch에서 5m 이상의 길이로 제조되었다. 우라늄박판은 불순물이 거의 없었으며 양호한 표면조도를 가지고 있었다. 우라늄박판의 냉각를 접촉표면은 자유표면 보다 매끈한 자유표면을 가지고 있었다. 우라늄박판은 제조공정변수와는 상관없이 ${\alpha}-U$ 상을 가진 약 10 ${\mu}m$ 이하의 미세한 다결정립을 가지고 있었다.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.40 no.1
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• pp.9-20
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• 2008

Since plutonium accounts for 40-50% of the power produced by uranium fuels, spent fuel contains only residual plutonium. Management of this plutonium is one of the aspects influencing the choice of a fuel cycle back-end option: reprocessing, direct disposal or wait-and-see. Different grades and qualities of plutonium exist depending from their specific generation conditions; all are valuable fissile material. Safeguard authorities watch the inventories of civil plutonium, but access to those data is restricted. Independent evaluations have led to an estimated current inventory of 220t plutonium in total (spent fuel, separated civil plutonium and military plutonium). If used as MOX fuel, it would be sufficient to feed all the PWRs and BWRs worldwide during 7 years or to deploy a FBR park corresponding to 150% of today' s installed nuclear capacity worldwide, which could then be exploited for centuries with the current stockpile of depleted and spent uranium. The energy potential of plutonium deteriorates with storage time of spent fuel and of separated plutonium, due to the decay of $^{241}Pu$, the best fissile isotope, into americium, a neutron absorber. The loss of fissile value of plutonium is more pronounced for usage in LWRs than in FBR. However, keeping the current plutonium inventory for an expected future deployment of FBRs is counterproductive. Recycling plutonium reduce the required volume for final disposal in an underground repository and the cost of final disposal. However, the benefits of utilizing an energy resource and of reducing final disposal liabilities are not the only aspects that determine the choice of a back-end policy.