No abstract

Prompt gamma rays induced by (n,n′γ) reactions on iron were measured with the instrument FanGaS (Fast Neutron induced Gamma-Ray Spectrometry) operated at the Heinz Maier-Leibnitz Zentrum (MLZ) in Garching. The measurement was performed at an angle of 90° between neutron beam and detector. The fast neutron flux at the sample position was determined to be 1.40 × 108 cm−2 s−1 by using the foil activation method. Energies, relative intensities and fast neutron spectrum averaged isotopic cross section for production of 81 prompt gamma lines are presented. The results obtained are found in good agreement with literature data. The new set of gamma lines is recommended to replace the old dataset with several new lines also recognizing a few false identifications. This work is an important step towards the future chemical analysis of large samples at FanGaS employing highly penetrating fission neutrons.

This work aimed to characterize the deportment/concentration and liberation/association of the metals and light elements within mechanically processed waste printed circuit boards (PCBs) that hold the complex and heterogeneous structure and distribution of different material components. Waste PCBs passed through a series of mechanical processing (i.e., comminution and sieving) for metal recovery and were then characterized without further destroying the particles in order to capture their heterogeneity. The characterizations were performed in a laboratory and large-scale neutron facility. The results obtained with a portable X-ray fluorescence spectroscopy and prompt gamma activation analysis were compared and confirmed the good agreement and complementarities in general. The advantages and disadvantages of the two different methods were identified and discussed in this paper, in relation to their application to the analysis of mechanically processed PCB particles.