Uranium determination in phosphoric acid solutions

In order to determine uranium from raw phosphoric acid solutions, resulted by the sulphuric acid attack of phosphate rocks and the strip solutions of the solvent extraction process for uranium recovery, two classes of analytical methods were established: one for low uranium content in phosphoric acid, and the other for higher uranium concentration in the same medium. The study was based on specific methods, therefore interference probability with other impurities in phosphoric acid medium is low. In the first class, X-ray fluorescence and spectrophotocolorimetric methods were used. X-ray fluorescence was applied on direct raw phosphoric acid solution and raffinate. The last one was associated with solvent extraction [di-(2-ethylhexyl) phosphate + triocylphosphine oxide] on the U(IV)-Arsenazo III complex in strip. The methods of the second class, were used for strip uranium concentrated solutions: X-ray fluorescence isotopic dilution and mass spectrometry, spectrophotocolorimetry and activation analysis associated with gamma-spectrometry. Here spectrophotocolorimetry involves two methods. The first one is based on the U(IV)-Arsenazo III complex and the other on direct U(IV)—phosphoric acid solutions measurements. A good agreement was obtained in each case for all comparative measurements involving various methods.     

Analytical applications of delayed and instrumental neutron activation analysis

Delayed neutron activation analysis (DNAA) is a rapid and sensitive analytical method for the determination of fissile elements in a variety of samples. The present work describes two different analytical applications of delayed neutron activation for the analysis of biological and environmental samples, respectively. In the first application, DNAA was utilized to determine the natural uranium content in NIST standard reference materials (SRM) 1547 peach leaves and 1573a tomato leaves. Measured uranium mass fractions are comparable to the non-certified values listed on the certificates for these materials. In the second application, delayed neutron activation is coupled with instrumental neutron activation analysis (INAA) for the measurement of rare earth elements (REE) (cerium, lanthanum, neodymium, and ytterbium) in NIST SRM 2586, Trace Elements in Soil Containing Lead from Paint. DNAA was utilized to determine the uranium mass fraction in SRM 2586 for the subsequent application of a correction factor to account for cerium, lanthanum, and neodymium produced as part of the INAA irradiation. Measured and corrected mass fractions for the REEs described here are all within the uncertainty limits provided on the NIST certificate for SRM 2586. These results and the demonstrated sensitivity of the DNAA system establish and validate the use of this method for the determination of REEs and for potential nuclear forensics applications.     

Determination of rare-earth elements by high-performance liquid chromatography/inductively-coupled plasma/atomic emission spectrometry

Liquid chromatography coupled on-line to a sequential ICP/AES system is applied for the determination of 14 rare-earth elements (REEs) in samples with widely different concentrations of REEs and matrix elements. The REEs are separated on a cation-exchanger by applying an α- hydroxyisobutyric acid gradient. The determination limits were the same as those obtained by continuous nebulization of single-element standard solutions. The chromatographic separation precludes mutual spectral interferences between the REEs. The practical value of the method developed is demonstrated by the determination of REE impurities in Specpure rare-earth oxides, by its demonstrated potential to evaluate real spectral interferences, and by the analysis of geological samples (natural phosphates) with relatively low total REE contents. The detection limits of REEs in these natural phosphates ranged between 0.005 and 0.4 μg g^?1.     

Determination of rare-earth elements in a limestone geological standard reference material by ICP-MS following solvent extraction.

Rare-earth elements in a limestone geological standard (JLs-1) were determined by inductively coupled plasma mass spectroscopy (ICP-MS) using phosphoric acid 2-ethylhexyl ester solvent extraction, which had been established for seawater analysis. First, the limestone sample was divided into two fractions: acetic acid soluble (carbonate fraction) and insoluble (residue). A modification of the method was undertaken to achieve quantitative recovery. With this method most of the REEs in the carbonate fraction were quantitatively recovered, except for the heaviest three REEs (Tm, Tb and Lu). The reason for the poor recoveries of the three elements was investigated, but still remained unclear. The mass-spectroscopic interference of BaO with Eu made an accurate determination of both lighter REEs and Eu at the same time impossible. The precision of this method was better than 20%. The data adopted after analytical consideration were consistent with those previously reported.     

Separation and inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectrometric (ICP-OES) determination of trace impurities in nuclear grade uranium oxide

A simple and rapid inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectrometric method for the determination of trace level impurities like REEs, Y, Cd, Co, V, Mg, B, Ca, Cr, Mn, Ni, Cu, Zn and Al in uranium oxide samples is described. The method involves solvent extraction separation of uranium from 6 M HNO₃ acid medium using di (2-ethyl hexyl) phosphoric acid in toluene, which selectively separates uranium leaving behind the trace impurities in the aqueous media, for quantification by ICP-OES. The method has been applied to few synthetic samples and five certified reference U₃O₈ standards. The results are compared with other methods such as TBP-TOPO-CCl₄ and 1,2 diaminocyclohexane N,N,N′,N′-tetra acetic acid (CyDTA)–ammonium hydroxide (NH₄OH) separation techniques. Different experimental parameters like contact time, acidity, aqueous to organic ratio etc., are optimized for better and accurate results. The method is simple, rapid, accurate and precise for all the studied elements, showing a relative standard deviation of 1.5–12.0% at trace levels studied (5.5–12% at 0.2 μg/mL and 1.5–6.0% at 0.5 μg/mL), on the synthetic samples prepared from high purity oxides.     

Determination of yttrium, scandium and other rare earth elements in uranium-rich geological materials by ICP-AES

A rapid method is described for the determination of yttrium, scandium, and other rare earth elements (REEs) in uranium-rich geological samples (containing more than 0.1% U) and in pitch blende type of samples by inductively coupled plasma atomic emission spectrometry (ICP-AES) after separation of uranium by selective precipitation of the analytes as hydroxides using H(2)O(2)/NaOH in the presence of iron as carrier. Uranium goes into solution as soluble peruranate complex. The precipitated rare earth hydroxides (including Y and Sc) are filtered and dissolved in hydrochloric acid prior to their aspiration into plasma for their individual estimation after selecting interference free REE emission lines. The method has also been applied to some international reference standards like SY-2 and SY-3 (by doping a known amount of uranium) along with one in-house pitch blende sample and the REE values were found to be in agreement with the most usable values, offering an R.S.D. of 1-8.8% for all the REEs', Y and Sc. The method compared well, with the well- established cation exchange separation procedure.     

Determination of rare earth elements, thorium and uranium by inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry and strontium isotopes by thermal ionization mass spectrometry in soil samples of Bryansk region contaminated due to Chernobyl accident

The present paper describes the inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometric (ICP-MS) determination of rare earth elements (REEs), thorium and uranium in forest, pasture, field and kitchen garden soils from a Russian territory and in certified reference materials (JLK-1, JSD-2 and BCR-1). In addition to concentration data, strontium isotopic composition of the soil samples were measured by thermal ionization mass spectrometry. The measurements contributed to the understanding of the background levels of these elements in an area contaminated due to Chernobyl accident. There was not a significant variation in the concentration of REEs at different depth levels in forest soil samples, however, the ratio of Th/U varied from 3.32 to 3.60. Though concentration of U and Th varied to some extent, the ratio did not show much variation. The value of ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr ratio, was in the top layer soil sample relatively higher than in the lower layers.     

Comparative determination of uranium in rock phosphates and columbite by ICP-OES,alpha &; gamma spectrometry

During this work selective separation of uranium from rock phosphate and columbite mineral was done before its quantitative estimation by using Inductively Coupled Plasma Optical Emission Spectrometery (ICP-OES). Uranium from the rock phosphate and columubite was extracted by sodium peroxide fusion followed by leaching in 2 M HNO₃. To avoid spectral interference in the estimation of uranium by ICP-OES, the selective separation of uranium from the leachate was carried out by using two different extractants, 30% Tributyl Phophates (TBP) in CCl₄ and a equi-volume mixture of Di(2-ethylhexyl) phosphoric acid (D2EHPA) & TBP in petrofin. Uranium was stripped from the organic phase by using 1 M ammonium carbonate solution. Determination of uranium by ICP-OES was done after dissolving the residue left after evaporation of ammonium carbonate solution in 4% HNO₃. The concentration of the uranium observed in the rock phosphates samples was 40–200 μg g⁻¹ whereas in columbite samples the concentration range was 100–600 μg g⁻¹. Uranium concentration evaluated by ICP-OES was complimented by gamma & alpha spectrometry. Concentration of uranium evaluated by gamma spectrometry in case of rock phosphate and coulmbite was in close agreement with the uranium content obtained by ICP-OES. Uranium determination by alpha spectrometry showed only minor deviation (1–2%) from the results obtained by ICP-OES in case of rock phosphates whereas in case of coulmbites results are off by 20–30%.     

聚丙烯酸螯合-超滤分离富集电感耦合等离子体质谱测定近岸及河口海水中24种痕量稀土及金属元素

建立了聚丙烯酸螯合-超滤( PCP - UF)分离富集、电感耦合等离子体质谱(ICP - MS)测定海水中痕量稀土及金属元素的方法.pH值高于7.5时,海水中的稀土离子、Cu2、pb2、Cd2、Co2、Ni2+等与聚丙烯酸(PAA)形成稳定的高分子螯合物,经超滤截留、硝酸解离后,实现了稀土及金属元素从海水中的分离、富集...     

Extraction of lanthanoids and some associated elements by mono-(2-ethylhexyl)phosphoric acid and their separations

Mono-(2-ethylhexyl)phosphoric acid (H₂MEHP) has been used to study the extraction of some lanthanoids and other associated elements from nitric acid medium. Effect of various variables like kind of diluent, concentration of metal ion, nitric acid and extractant has been investigated. Based on distribution data, it was possible to achieve some separations of lighter lanthanoids from metals like titanium, zirconium, thorium and uranium with high separation factors.     

Determination of rare earth elements in USGS rock standards by isotope dilution mass spectrometry and comparison with neutron activation and inductively coupled plasma atomic emission spectrometry

Rare earth element (REE) concentrations in United States Geological Survey (USGS) rock standards AGV-1, GSP-1, G-2 and PCC-1 were determined by isotope dilution mass spectrometry (IDMS), neutron activation and inductively coupled argon plasma atomic emission spectrometric techniques. The procedure involved acid digestion of samples in PTFE pressure bombs and group separation of REEs by an ion-exchange method. For IDMS an additional separation step using α-hydroxyisobutyric acid as an eluent was used in a cation-exchange column to split the REEs into subgroups. Comparison of the results with literature values showed that the IDMS values are the most precise and accurate. However, the precisions and the accuracies of the other techniques are acceptable.     

氨基羧酸纤维分离富集-电感耦合等离子体原子发射光谱法测定多种痕量稀土元素

本文制备了氨基羧酸纤维滤纸片作为柱填充物，成功地分离和富集了地化样品中的多种稀土元素。富集后的稀土元素采用电感耦合等离子体原子发射光谱法测定，回收率为90％～109％。本文还对基体干扰及其消除进行了研究。     

Determination of rare earth elements in seawater by on-line column preconcentration inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry

A home made column of commercially available iminodiacetate resin, Muromac A-1 (50–100 mesh) was used to concentrate rare earth elements (REEs) (15 elements: Y, La, Ce, Pr, Nd, Sm, Eu, Gd, Tb, Dy, Ho, Er, Tm, Yb, and Lu) in seawater. An automated low pressure flow analysis method with on-line column preconcentration/inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) is described for the determination of REEs in seawater. Sample solutions (adjusted to pH of 3.0) passed through the column. After washing the column with water, the adsorbed elements were subsequently eluted into the plasma with 0.7 M nitric acid. Calibration curves were accomplished by means of purified artificial seawater with a sample loading time of 120 s. Detection limits (DLs) of the on-line column preconcentration/ICP-MS by eight replicate operations were between 0.040 and 0.251 pg ml⁻¹ for REEs in the artificial seawater. The precision was less than 8.9% for REEs and one sample can be processed in 7 min using a 7 ml of sample. The proposed method was applied to determine REEs in coastal seawater of Hiroshima Bay, Japan.     

Preconcentration and determination of rare-earth elements in iron-rich water samples by extraction chromatography and plasma source mass spectrometry (ICP-MS)

A 100-fold preconcentration procedure based on rare-earth elements (REEs) separation from water samples with an extraction chromatographic column has been developed. The separation of REEs from matrix elements (mainly Fe, alkaline and alkaline-earth elements) in water samples was performed loading the samples, previously acidified to pH 2.0 with HNO₃, in a 2 ml column preconditioned with 20 ml 0.01 M HNO₃. Subsequently, REEs were quantitatively eluted with 20 ml 7 M HNO₃. This solution was evaporated to dryness and the final residue was dissolved in 10 ml 2% HNO₃ containing 1 μg l⁻¹ of cesium used as internal standard. The solution was directly analysed by inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS), using ultrasonic nebulization, obtaining quantification limits ranging from 0.05 to 0.10 ng l⁻¹. The proposed method has been applied to granitic waters running through fracture fillings coated by iron and manganese oxy-hydroxides in the area of the Ratones (Cáceres, Spain) old uranium mine.     

Determination of rare earth elements in human blood serum by inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry after chelating resin preconcentration

The determination of all rare earth elements (REEs) in human blood serum by inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) was performed with the aid of chelating resin (Chelex 100) preconcentration after acid digestion with HNO3 and HClO4. When chelating resin preconcentration was carried out at room temperature, the recoveries of heavy REEs were lower than those of light REEs because of their stable complex formation with residual organic compounds remaining in the digested serum solution. These problems were overcome by heating the solution at 80 degrees C during the chelating resin preconcentration process. As a result, the recoveries for all REEs were improved to 92-102% in the case of a concentration factor of 4, where the analytical detection limits for REEs were below 0.2 x 10(-12) g ml-1. Consequently, all REEs in individual human blood sera collected from five healthy volunteers could be determined by ICP-MS with good precision. The concentrations of REEs in human blood serum were extremely low, in the range from ca. 1 x 10(-12) g ml-1 of Eu to ca. 230 x 10(-12) g ml-1 of Ce.     

Characterizing uranium oxide reference particles for isotopic abundances and uranium mass by single particle isotope dilution mass spectrometry

Uranium and plutonium particulate test materials are becoming increasingly important as the reliability of measurement results has to be demonstrated to regulatory bodies responsible for maintaining effective nuclear safeguards. In order to address this issue, the Institute for Reference Materials and Measurements (IRMM) in collaboration with the Institute for Transuranium Elements (ITU) has initiated a study to investigate the feasibility of preparing and characterizing a uranium particle reference material for nuclear safeguards, which is finally certified for isotopic abundances and for the uranium mass per particle. Such control particles are specifically required to evaluate responses of instruments based on mass spectrometric detection (e.g. SIMS, TIMS, LA-ICPMS) and to help ensuring the reliability and comparability of measurement results worldwide. In this paper, a methodology is described which allows quantifying the uranium mass in single micron particles by isotope dilution thermal ionization mass spectrometry (ID-TIMS). This methodology is characterized by substantial improvements recently achieved at IRMM in terms of sensitivity and measurement accuracy in the field of uranium particle analysis by TIMS. The use of monodisperse uranium oxide particles prepared using an aerosol generation technique developed at ITU, which is capable of producing particles of well-characterized size and isotopic composition was exploited. The evidence of a straightforward correlation between the particle volume and the mass of uranium was demonstrated in this study. Experimental results have shown that the uranium mass per particle can be measured via the ID-TIMS method to a relative expanded uncertainty of about 10% (coverage factor k = 2). The availability of reliable and validated methods for the characterization of uranium particles is considered to be essential for the establishment of SI-traceable measurement results. It is therefore expected that the method developed in this study is valuable for the certification of particulate materials in which the isotopic composition and the content of uranium must be accurately known.     

Effects of several experimental parameters on the relative sensitivity factors in spark-source mass spectrometric analysis of steel

The effects of spark gap, sample electrode size, spark technique, spark position, and energy-pass bandwidth of the ion beam, on the relative sensitivity factors in analysis for trace elements in steel by spark-source mass spectrometry have been investigated by means of electrical-detection, peak-switching techniques. The effects of spark gap and spark position are of the greatest importance. The energy distributions of both matrix and impurity ions were measured. For several elements, changes in spark position produced corresponding changes in the distribution of ion energies. These changes of energy distribution were partly responsible for variations in relative sensitivity factors with changing spark position.     

AG50W-x8树脂分离去除钡的多原子离子对电感耦合等离子体质谱法测定稀土元素的质谱干扰

采用AG50W－x8阳离子交换树脂,以HNO3作为梯度淋洗剂,可有效地分离Ba和稀土元素,实验表明：以2mol/L HNO3淋洗时,99．5％的Ba被分离去除;以5mol/L HNO3淋洗时,稀土的回收率在96－110％之间。标准参考物质的分析结果显示测定值与标准值十分接近,表明AG50W－x8阳离子交换树脂分离可有效地去除Ba元素的多原子离子（BaO^ ,BaOH^ )对ICP－MS法测定稀土元素测定的质谱干扰,该方法准确,可靠。同时,为准确测定Eu提供了一条新的途径。     

Determination of phosphoric acid triesters in human plasma using solid-phase microextraction and gas chromatography coupled to inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry

A simple and sensitive method for determination of phosphoric acid triesters at trace levels in human plasma sample is described. In this work, solid-phase microextraction (SPME) is employed as a sample preparation procedure for extraction and pre-concentration of alkyl and aryl phosphates followed by gas chromatography coupled to inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (GC-ICP-MS) for phosphorus-specific and very sensitive determination of these compounds in human plasma. The detection limits from blood plasma were 50 ngL(-1) (tripropyl phosphate), 17 ngL(-1) (tributyl phosphate), 240 ngL(-1) (tris(2-chloroethyl) phosphate) and 24 ngL(-1) (triphenyl phosphate). Sample preparation involves plasma deproteinization followed by direct immersion SPME with 65 microm poly(dimethylsiloxane/divinylbenzene) fiber. Extraction was performed at 40 degrees C for 30 min and at pH 7.0 in 10 mM sodium carbonate buffer. The reported method, to our knowledge, describes the first application of SPME with element-specific detection for analysis of phosphoric acid esters. Application of the method to the plasma samples, previously stored in poly(vinyl chloride) plasma bags revealed the presence of triphenyl phosphate, which was further confirmed by SPME GC time-of-flight high-resolution mass spectrometry.     

Flow injection on-line solid phase extraction coupled with inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry for determination of (Ultra)trace rare earth elements in environmental materials using maleic acid grafted polytetrafluoroethylene fibers as sorbent

A new sorbent, maleic acid grafted polytetrafluoroethylene fiber (MA-PTFE), was prepared and evaluated for on-line solid-phase extraction coupled with inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) for fast, selective, and sensitive determination of (ultra)trace rare earth elements (REEs) in environmental samples. The REEs in aqueous samples at pH = 3.0 were selectively extracted onto a microcolumn packed with the MA-PTFE fiber, and the adsorbed REEs were subsequently eluted on-line with 0.9 mol l(-1) HNO3 for ICP-MS determination. The new sorbent extraction system allows effective preconcentration and separation of the REEs from the major matrix constituents of alkali and alkali earth elements, particularly their separation from barium that produces considerable isobaric interferences of 134Ba16O1H+, 135Ba16O+, 136Ba16O1H+, and 137Ba16O+ on 151Eu+ and 153Eu+. With the use of a sample loading flow rate of 7.4 ml min(-1) for 120 s preconcentration, enhancement factors of 69-97 and detection limits (3s) of 1-20 pg l(-1) were achieved at a sample throughput of 22 samples h(-1). The precision (RSD) for 16 replicate determinations of 50 ng l(-1) of REEs was 0.5-1.1%. The developed method was successfully applied to the determination of (ultra)trace REEs in sediment, soil, and seawater samples.