A non-destructive dielectric based approach for the rapid determination of tributyl phosphate in dodecane

Reliable determination of tributyl phosphate (TBP) in suitable diluents is indispensable in studies related to nuclear fuel reprocessing. Herein, we present a rapid and non-destructive dielectric based approach to determine TBP in mixtures of TBP and n-dodecane in the quality control as well as research laboratories associated with nuclear fuel reprocessing. The measurement is based on an in-house developed new class of sensors called pulsating sensors. The heart of the instrument consists of a three gate oscillator circuit that generates the first electronic response directly in the digital domain. With a single capacitive type probe and using a standalone embedded unit, two different ranges of measurement are covered. A detailed investigation on the various factors affecting the probe output is carried out to achieve maximum sensitivity and precision in analysis. It takes less than a minute to take a measurement. The precision in analysis in the reported range of measurement (0.7–35% v/v TBP) lies between 0.15% and 11.4% relative standard deviation, while the absolute error in measurement lies between ±0.02 and ±0.43% (v/v). The response time and limit of quantification are 4.5 s and 0.1% (v/v), respectively. The measurements made with the proposed technique are compared with the well-established gas chromatographic technique.