Rapid screening of nuclear grade zirconium silicate without separation of hafnium from the bulk matrix

Zirconium silicate, also zirconium orthosilicate, (ZrSiO4) is a chemical compound, and occurs in nature as zircon, a silicate mineral. The concentration of Hafnium in nuclear grade Zirconium must be less than 0.2% w/w of Zr. In view of this it must be accurately chemically characterized before issuing a certification for export under non nuclear category. As the chemistry of Zr and Hf is similar, it is difficult to separate Hf by direct wet chemical method. During this work, concentration of Hf in zirconium silicate was measured by Field Portable X-ray Fluorescence (FPXRF) and results obtained were validated by using detailed chemical method. FPXRF spectrometry has become a common analytical technique for on-site screening and fast turnaround analysis of contaminant elements in environmental samples