Non-contact Pd separation based on laser-induced particle formation for determination of Pd with ICP-MS

Yomogida, Takumi   ; Asai, Shiho; Saeki, Morihisa; Hanzawa, Yukiko  ; Esaka, Fumitaka  ; Oba, Hironori  ; Kitatsuji, Yoshihiro  

Palladium-107 can be found in high-level radioactive wastes (HLW). Owing to its long half-life (6.5 million years), determination of the Pd contents in HLW is essential for an evaluation of the long-term safety of HLW repositories. We developed a procedure for the determination of the Pd, but there were difficulties in separation prior to the ICP-MS measurement. Complicated analytical procedure may cause contaminations by radioactive components and an isobar Ag which can be a isobaric interference in the measurement. In this study, a simple separation technique based on laser-induced microparticle formation that allows non-contact separation was developed. The recovery percentage of Pd from a simulated HLW solution reached 60%, while 99% of the other 13 elements were removed. In addition, no signals of Ag was detected in the Pd particles. These results indicate that highly-selective separation of Pd is achievable with the proposed separation procedure.