title: Measuring lanthanide concentrations in molten salt using laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy (LIBS).
abstract: The versatility of laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy (LIBS) as an analytical method for high-temperature applications was demonstrated through measurement of the concentrations of the lanthanide elements europium (Eu) and praseodymium (Pr) in molten eutectic lithium chloride-potassium chloride (LiCl-KCl) salts at a temperature of 500 °C. Laser pulses (1064 nm, 7 ns, 120 mJ/pulse) were focused on the top surface of the molten salt samples in a laboratory furnace under an argon atmosphere, and the resulting LIBS signals were collected using a broadband Echelle-type spectrometer. Partial least squares (PLS) regression using leave-one-sample-out cross-validation was used to quantify the concentrations of Eu and Pr in the samples. The root mean square error of prediction (RMSEP) for Eu was 0.13% (absolute) over a concentration range of 0-3.01%, and for Pr was 0.13% (absolute) over a concentration range of 0-1.04%.
authors.affiliation: Energy Research Company, 1250 South Avenue, Plainfield, NJ 07062 USA.
authors.forename: Arel
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Weisberg
authors.forename: Rollin E
authors.initials: RE
authors.lastname: Lakis
authors.forename: Michael F
authors.initials: MF
authors.lastname: Simpson
authors.forename: Leo
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Horowitz
authors.forename: Joseph
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Craparo