A Novel Technique for Estimation of Metallic Uranium Using Proton Exchange Membrane Based Hydrogen Sensor

Direct electrochemical reduction of UO2 to U metal is being attempted in molten salts. In this context, a new technique for the estimation of uranium metal has been developed. In this technique, the concentration of H2 released during the reaction of a metal with HBr is measured online as a function of time using an in-house developed proton exchange membrane hydrogen sensor. The method was developed by reacting different known masses of Zn with HBr and measuring the quantity of liberated hydrogen. Subsequently the methodology was employed for the estimation of U. From the calibration plots of number of moles of hydrogen released versus number of moles of Zn or U taken, an unknown mass of Zn or U was estimated. Uranium metal was estimated by the method with accuracy comparable with the results from inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectroscopic analysis. The technique was found to be simple, accurate and hands free for the estimation of uranium metal. The paper discusses the details of the sensor assembly, calibration, testing, methodology development and results of estimation of zinc and uranium metals using the sensor.