Determination of soluble carbon in nuclear grade boron carbide

The present work describes two different techniques (manometric and wet chemical) for the soluble carbon determination in nuclear grade boron carbide. The techniques are based on the reaction of the boron carbide with a sulfocromic mixture, generating CO2. The techniques differ on the mode they do the measurement of CO2 produced. By wet chemical technique the CO2 is absorved in a barium hydroxide solution and is determinated by titration. In the manometric technique the CO2 gas is measured using a McLeod gauge. The gas produced by the latter technique is analysed by mass spectrometry. The details of the analytical technique and the data obtained are discussed. (author)