SFE-IR Analysis of Water in Plutonium-bearing Process Solids

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See also Moisture Determination Poster

Industrial Partner
Isco, Inc. is the Industrial Partner for Moisture Analysis Technology.

SFE Moisture Analysis System
The supercritical fluid extraction (SFE) moisture analysis system is comprised of two primary components, a model 220 supercritical fluid extractor arrangement manufactured by ISCO, Inc. and a Fourier Transform Infra Red (FTIR) spectrometer. The extractor system is composed of a high pressure syringe pump to control the pressure, an extractor unit to control the temperature, a transfer line to connect the extractor and high pressure FTIR cell, the high-pressure cell and a temperature controlled restrictor to vent the system back to atmospheric conditions (see Figure 1).

Figure 1. SFE-IR system for monitoring water in plutonium-bearing solids. The compact extractor module and FTIR spectrometer are contained inside the glovebox.

Supercritical carbon dioxide (SCCO₂) dynamically extracts the water in the sample at 3000 psig and 140°C. The SCCO₂ and solubilized water are transfered to the high-pressure FTIR cell, and the unique chemical OH bond energy at 1590 cm-1 is monitored for absorbance. The absorbance is automatically collected by a software program and plotted against time. The resulting curve is then integrated and the area is compared to a calibration curve based on known amounts of extracted water. The weight of water in the sample is then calculated. Based on the water extracted and the weight of the sample, the percent moisture can be determined.

May 21/2008

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