Determination of iron in nuclear grade zirconium oxide by x-ray fluorescence spectrometry using an internal intensity reference

Iron forms an important constituent of zirconium alloys that are specially chosen for the fabrication of nuclear reactor core components. The concentration of iron in intermediate products is closely monitored during the manufacture of these alloys starting from the chemical processing of the ore zircon. In order to accomplish this, an x-ray fluorescence spectrometric technique using an internal ratio method has been developed for the determination of iron in the range of 10 μg g−1 to 2500 μg g−1 in zirconium oxide, an intermediate product which is the feed material for the production of zirconium sponge and further to zircaloy. The method involves direct measurement of Fe K α and second order Zr K α intensities of loose as well as compacted powders. Results are precise within < 1.0% R.S.D.