Chemical processing of highly radioactive materials commonly takes place in heavily shielded hot cells. The remote, real-time monitoring of chemical processing streams via optical spectroscopic techniques in hot cells may be particularly useful. Here, we describe the implementation of Raman spectroscopy and chemometric analysis to monitor the dissolution of aluminum-clad targets containing irradiated aluminum–neptunium oxide cermet pellets in caustic solutions in a hot cell environment. Partial least squares regression analysis was used to generate calibration models to quantify the concentration of dissolved aluminum, nitrate, and hydroxide in solutions within the radiochemical hot cell. This work explored a systematic approach to optimize a matrix of calibration standards using a D-optimal experimental design. The Design of Experiments-based regression model, in comparison to more traditional analytical approaches, was found to be the more practical method for building calibration models, with fewer samples, to obtain informative analytical data from Raman spectra.

中文翻译：

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EXPRESS：使用拉曼光谱监测放射化学热室中铝合金的碱溶解

高放射性材料的化学处理通常在高度屏蔽的热室中进行。在热室中通过光谱技术远程实时监测化学处理流可能特别有用。在这里，我们描述了拉曼光谱和化学计量分析的实施，以监测含有辐射铝镎氧化物金属陶瓷颗粒的铝包覆靶在热室环境中的苛性碱溶液中的溶解情况。偏最小二乘回归分析用于生成校准模型，以量化放射化学热室内溶液中溶解的铝、硝酸盐和氢氧化物的浓度。这项工作探索了一种使用 D 最优实验设计来优化校准标准矩阵的系统方法。