DETERMINATION OF NITROGEN IN UN, PUN AND (U,PU)N BY OXIDATION IN CIRCULATING OXYGEN AND GAS-CHROMATOGRAPHIC MEASUREMENT OF THE COMBUSTION GASES

A simple and accurate method for the determination of nitrogen in uranium- and plutonium-bearing materials was developed. The loss of nitrogen by oxidation of the sample before analysis was prevented by pulverizing, weighing and packing the sample into a tin capsule in a glove-box with a high-purity argon atmosphere. Nitrogen was determined by oxidizing the nitrides in the tin capsule in circulating oxygen at 850 °C and analysing the combustion gases by gas chromatography with thermal conductivity detection. The relative standard deviation was about 0.7% and the time required to analyse one sample was about 10 min for successive analyses. Skilled techniques for glove-box work are not necessary. The method is applicable not only to the analysis of research samples but also to the quality control of nitride fuel production lines. © 1990.