24
LMS Issue 4 | 2014
Education & Research
In Heavy Water
D
euterium oxide, also known as
heavy water, is used as a moderator in nuclear power plants to maintain
the nuclear chain reaction. The purity
and concentration of heav y water
can be analysed with refractive index
measurement.
and pH, deuterium oxide and hydrogen
oxide differ slightly in their chemical
and physical properties. As they have
different refractive indices, refractive
index measurement allows for fast and
accurate determination of purity and
concentration. Testing wastewater for
the presence of deuterium oxide helps
to ensure the primary coolant system of
a reactor is not leaking.
Heavy water analysis with
Abbemat Refractometers
Highly accurate determination of
Heavy water in research
and nuclear power plants
Heavy water is used in about 5% of all
nuclear reactors as a neutron moderator
to maintain a nuclear chain reaction in
heavy water reactors. Apart from that, it
is used in research as solvent in nuclear
magnetic resonance spectroscopy.
In heavy water, hydrogen is replaced
by deuterium, a heavier isotope of
hydrogen with an additional neutron
in its core. The name ‘heavy water’
derives from approximately 11% higher
density of deuterium oxide compared
to hydrogen oxide. Except for density
Anton Paar Southern Africa (Pty) Ltd
Contact: Andre van Zyl
Tel: 011-021-5165/6/7
Email: [email protected]
Determining Different
Species of Compounds
C
oupling ion chromatography to an
inductively coupled plasma mass
spectrometer (IC-ICP/MS) is a powerful tool to determine different species
of organic and inorganic compounds
unambiguously in one single run.
However, during sample preparation,
some of these species undergo interconversion. These interconversions can
be reliably monitored using speciated
isotope dilution mass spectrometry
(SIDMS), a method recently described
in EPA method 6800.
Monitoring interconversions
to derive true
concentrations of species
Depending on the pH and the redox
potential, chromium, for example, can
interconvert bi-directionally between
Cr3+ and the highly toxic and carcinogenic Cr6+. Similarly, mercury tends to
undergo various transformations when
rele