X-ray fluorescence determination of lanthanum,cerium, praseodymium,and neodymium in technological solutions after preconcentration on DETATA cellulose filters

Sorption of some rare earth elements on filters with immobilized diethylenetriaminetetraacetate (DETATA) groups was studied. It was shown that the elements are quantitatively extracted from solutions with volume of 20–500 mL at pH values ranging between 3.5 and 5.5 and a flow rate from 1 to 8 mL/min. It was proposed to use masking agents such as sulfosalicylic acid and 1,10-phenanthroline for extracting elements from iron-containing solutions. The elements were determined directly on filters by X-ray fluorescence spectroscopy. The calibration dependences were shown to be linear in the concentration range from 2 to 100 μg of rare earth element per filter. The limits of detection of La, Ce, Pr, and Nd calculated on the basis of the 3s criterion in the case of extraction from 100 mL solutions were 0.03, 0.03, 0.01 and 0.01 μg/mL, respectively.     

The determination of lanthanum,cerium and thorium without separations: The determination of lanthanum and cerium in thorium

A method is proposed for the spectrophotometric determination of small quantities of lanthanum, cerium and thorium in the presence of one another without separations. Cerium is estimated from its absorption peak in the ultraviolet region, thorium with thorin, and the 3 elements together with arsenazo. The lanthanum is calculated after subtraction of the combined absorbances of the arsenazo complexes of the thorium and cerium. The procedure can be readily applied to the determination of microgram amounts of the 2 rare earths in thorium. In this case the majority of the thorium is removed from the solution by solvent extraction with TTA before the estimation of the rare earths. The interference of iron is considered and proposals made for its removal.     

Sequential separation and determination of plutonium, americium-241 and strontium-90 in soils and sediments

A sensitive and reliable metbod for the sequential separation and determination of plutonium,²⁴¹Am and⁹⁰Sr in soil samples was developed. Plutonium was separated by a Microthene-TNOA column. Then⁹⁰Y (for⁹⁰Sr determination) was separated from americium by a HDEHP column after elimination of large amounts of interfering stable or radioactive nuclides (iron,²¹⁰Bi and²¹⁰Po etc.) by an oxalate precipitation and a Microthene-TNOA column. Finally americium was purified by another HDEHP column and a PMBP-TOPO extraction. A special attention was paid to the decontamination of Pu and Am from²¹⁰Po and of⁹⁰Y from²¹⁰Bi; the relevant decontamination factors resulted greater than 10⁵, 10⁶ and 10⁴ respectively. The detection limits were 1.2 mBq/kg for Pu and 1.7 mBq/kg for²⁴¹Am and 0.32 Bq/kg for⁹⁰Sr. The procedure was checked by analyzing three certified samples supplied by IAEA. Some Italian soil samples were also analyzed giving average yields of 84.9±7.2% for Pu, 57.8±3.2%for Am and 96.7±1.6% for Y; the^239+240Pu,²³⁸Pu,²⁴¹Am and⁹⁰Sr contents (Bq/kg) ranged from 0.347 to 1.53, from 0.013 to 0.048, from 0.126 to 0.556 and from 2.89 to 11.6 respectively and the average ratios were 0.037±0.017 for²³⁸Pu/^239+240Pu, 0.357±0.040 for²⁴¹Am/^239+240Pu and 7.0±1.2 for⁹⁰Sr/^239+240Pu.     

Comparison of analytical methods for the determination of trace amounts of strontium and yttrium by photon induced X-ray fluorescence techniques in lateritic materials

Three different analytical methods for the determination of strontium and yttrium in Venezuelan latterites by radioisotope induced X-ray fluorescence are compared, also with results from conventional wavelength dispersive X-ray fluorescence. The samples analyzed were from Cerro Impacto, Venezuela. The photon-induced energy dispersive X-ray fluorescence system consisted of a¹⁰⁹Cd (7 mCi) source for excitation of the characteristic K X-rays for strontium and yttrium. The detection system employed a high resolution Si(Li) detector and was completely controlled by a PDP-11/05 processor. Of the three analytical methods described, the internal standard-thin film technique was shown to be slightly superior to the conventional standard calibration curve method and the standard additon/dilution procedure. This can be explained by considering the effectiveness of the compensation of the sources of errors by these methods. It should also be noted that in the case of wavelength dispersive X-ray fluorescence, an about 5–10 times greater sample is needed, which is a limitation compared to energy dispersive X-ray fluorescence in some cases. Finally, typical relative standard deviations of the energy dispersive X-ray fluorescence methods were about 10–15% for the range of about 100–100 ppm of strontium and yttrium; these values are acceptable considering the large degree of heterogeneity in this type of geological material. This project was funded by Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Technológicas (CONICIT) and performed as part of UNESCO's IGCP-129 “Lateritization Processes” project.     

Sensitivities and detection limits of X-ray fluorescence analysis with a 10 mCi241Am source

Sieben Spurenelemente im Bereich von Chrom bis Barium wurden auf Amberlite IR-120 Kationenaustauschpapier angereichert und durch energiedispersive Röntgenfluorescenzanalyse mit einer 10 mCi²⁴¹Am-Quelle bestimmt. Die Übereinstimmung der experimentell gemessenen mit den theoretisch berechneten Empfindlichkeiten wird geprüft. Die Nachweisgrenzen werden verglichen mit den in typischen Oberflächengewässern vorkommenden und den in Trinkwasser maximal erlaubten Elementkonzentrationen. Die Möglichkeit der Anwendung in der Umweltanalytik wird diskutiert.     

Application of total-reflection X-ray fluorescence spectrometry in material analysis

X-ray fluorescence spectrometry with total reflection conditions is applied in the qualitative and quantitative determination of impurities in thin layers of Ti, TiO₂, and HfO₂ prepared by evaporation and of SiO₂, TiO₂, and Ta₂O₅ prepared by ion beam sputtering. The same method is used to examine stainless steel discs, which have to be used as reference materials,Dedicated to Professor Günther Tölg on the occasion of his 60th birthday     

The determination of barium,lanthanum and magnesium in pancreatic islets by electrothermal atomic absorption spectrometry

Barium and lanthanum are determined by direct injection of freeze-dried samples (1–15 μg), and magnesium by injection of 2-μl aliquots of a homogenized suspension. The amounts found are 5.5 (±0.7), 219 (±7) and 28±6 mmol kg^-1 (dry weight) for Ba, La and Mg, respectively.     

Simultaneous determination of lanthanum and cerium in mixed rare earths with p-acetylarsenazo by spectrophotometry

A new method has been developed for the simultaneous spectrophotometric determination of small amounts of lanthanum and cerium in the presence of large amounts of rare earth elements. Lanthanum (III) and cerium (III) were determined spectrophotometrically with p-acetylarsenazo as the color reagent in the chloroacetic acid medium at pH 3.1 by measuring the absorbances of the complexes at 670 nm. The remained rare earths were masked with ethylenediaminetetracetic acid and ethylenediaminetetracetic acid-zinc during the analysis. The optimum conditions for the simultaneous determination of lanthanum and cerium have been defined. The individual content of lanthanum (III) and cerium (III) were determined by varying the amounts of EDTA and EDTA-Zn used in the analysis and solving the simultaneous absorbance equations based on the Beer's law. The proposed method has been successfully applied to the determination of lanthanum and cerium in Longnan mixed rare earth oxides and other heavy rare earths without preliminary separation with satisfactory results. The relative errors of all analytical results of the method were not more than 2% with good precision. The procedure does not require separation of lanthanum, cerium and the other rare earth elements.     

Trace determination of lanthanum,cerium, and praseodymium based on adsorptive stripping voltammetry

A sensitive stripping procedure is described for quantifying lanthanum, cerium and praseodymium ions, based on the controlled adsorptive accumulation of the lanthanide/o- cresolphthalexon complex onto the static mercury drop electrode. The effect of various operational parameters on the stripping response is discussed. A 20-min accumulation period coupled with differential pulse measurement of the current resulting from the adsorbed complex permits quantitation down to the 1 × 10^?10 M level. For concentrations ranging from 2.5 × 10^?8 M to 2.5 × 10^?9 M, a 0.5- to 4-min accumulation period is sufficient. The relative standard deviation ar the 7 × 10^?8 M level ranges from 1 to 6%.     

Sensitivities and detection limits of X-ray fluorescence analysis with a 10 mCi241Am source

Sieben Spurenelemente im Bereich von Chrom bis Barium wurden auf Amberlite IR-120 Kationenaustauschpapier angereichert und durch energiedispersive Röntgenfluorescenzanalyse mit einer 10 mCi²⁴¹Am-Quelle bestimmt. Die Übereinstimmung der experimentell gemessenen mit den theoretisch berechneten Empfindlichkeiten wird geprüft. Die Nachweisgrenzen werden verglichen mit den in typischen Oberflächengewässern vorkommenden und den in Trinkwasser maximal erlaubten Elementkonzentrationen. Die Möglichkeit der Anwendung in der Umweltanalytik wird diskutiert.

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Empfindlichkeiten und Nachweisgrenzen der Röntgenfluorescenzanalyse mit einer 10 mCi²⁴¹Am-Quelle

Summary Seven trace elements ranging from chromium to barium were preconcentrated on Amberlite IR-120 cation exchange paper and determined in an energy dispersive X-ray fluorescence system using a 10 mCi²⁴¹Am source. Sensitivities were experimentally determined and checked with theoretically calculated values. The detection limits are compared with elemental levels present in typical surface waters and those allowed in drinking water. Appropriate conclusions as to feasibility of such a system for environmental monitoring are drawn.

     

Determination of nickel in lateritic ore by various techniques of energy dispersive X-ray fluorescence analysis

Radiometric techniques of determining the nickel content in lateritic ore samples are described. In some of the methods proposed a semiconductor detector and a multichannel pulse height analyzer are required. In another technique simple portable equipment with a proportional counter was used. Calculation methods of correction for matrix effects were applied, in combination with measurements of the fluorescence to scatter ratio and the use of edge filters.     

Determination of yttrium and lanthanum in zirconium dioxide by HPLC, X-ray fluorescence and neutron activation analyses

Summary Lanthania-and yttria-stabilized zirconium oxide ceramics have been examined using High Performance Liquid Chromatography (HPLC), thermal neutron activation (NA) and X-ray Fluorescence (XRF) analyses and thus determine the stabilizer content. Ceramic powders with the composition ZrO₂:x mol % La₂O₃ (x=5, 10, 15, 20 and 33) and ZrO₂:x mol % Y₂O₃ (x=10, 15, 20 and 25) were prepared by the citrate and the co-precipitation techniques, respectively. The lanthanum content was determined by HPLC (x=5.09, 9.78, 14.98, 19.81 and 25.94) and NA (x=5.15, 10.32, 17.25, 21.08 and 27.97) analyses, the yttrium content by HPLC (x=8.5, 13.5, 17.9 and 22.1) and XRF (x=9.9, 15.8, 20.1 and 24.9) analyses. An experimental sequence, based on continuous dilution of ceramic powder solutions, is proposed for preparing samples for HPLC measurements. A swimming pool nuclear reactor is used for NA analysis. The quantitative determinations of yttrium and lanthanum doping levels obtained using those techniques are described.     

Determination of rare earth impurities in cerium dioxide and oxalate by X-ray fluorescence technique

A method for the determination of lathanum, praseodymium, neodymium and samarium oxides in cerium dioxide has been developed. The sample in the oxalate form is mixed with the binding material (boric acid) in the ratio 1∶1 pressed to form a double layer pellet over a boric acid backing pellet and irradiated by X-rays from a tungsten tube. The secondary X-rays are dispersed with a LiF (200) crystal in a Philips PW 1220 semiautomatic X-ray fluorescence spectrometer. The intensity of fluorescent X-rays is measured by a flow proportional counter. The minimum determination limit is 0.01% for lanthanum and samarium oxides and 0.02% for praseodymium and neodymium oxides. The precision at each concentration of the standards and theoretical minimum determination limit for each element have been calculated.     

Neutron activation analysis for determination of cerium trace impurity in high purity lanthanum oxide

Cerium trace impurity in high purity lanthanum oxide (99.99%) has been determined by NAA after pre-separation of La matrix. In this method, the sample was dissolved in conc. nitric acid and diluted with water. The final concentration of solution is about 0.1M of nitric acid. It was passed through a MnO₂ column. Under these conditions cerium is retained on the column quantitatively without retaining lathanum. Cerium is eluted with 4M nitric acid. The recoveries of Ce were checked with tracers and by standard addition to lanthanum oxide matrices. Results obtained on a high purity lanthanum oxide are reported here.     

Direct determination of thorium in uranium oxide by X-ray fluorescence

Summary Thorium in uranium is determined directly at trace levels by an XRF method. Uranium oxide samples are put in the form of double layer pellets and analysed by using Philips PW-1220 X-ray spectrometer. The typical value of the precision of the method at 200 ppm level is ±10% and estimation range is 50–1000 ppm of thorium in uranium.

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Direkte Bestimmung von Thorium in Uranoxid durch Röntgenfluorescenz-Spektrometrie

Zusammenfassung Mit Hilfe der beschriebenen Methode kann Th in Spurenkonzentrationen direkt bestimmt werden. Die Uranoxidproben werden als Doppelschicht-Tabletten eingesetzt und mit Hilfe eines Philips PW-1220 Röntgenspektrometers analysiert. Die Genauigkeit im Bereich von 200 ppm beträgt ±10%. Der Anwendungsbereich liegt bei 50–1000 ppm.

     

Application of radioisotope-excited X-ray fluorescence to the determination of trace elements in blood

A radioisotope-excited energy-dispersive X-ray fluorescence system has been constructed and used for the analysis of blood samples for trace elements. The possibility of determination of trace elements in blood by X-ray fluorescence based on comparison with standard reference materials has been outlined and the applicability of the method demonstrated by the analysis of blood samples. The method enables fast, non-destructive direct analyses to be carried out without lengthy sample pretreatment on a routine basis.     

X-ray fluorescence method for the determination of rare earths, uranium and thorium in allanites

Summary An X-ray fluorescence (XRF) method for the determination of La, Ce, Pr, Nd, Sm, Gd, Th and U in allanites is described. The estimation limits for different impurity elements are La 0.5–10%, Ce 2–20%, Pr 0.1–2.0%, Nd 0.5–10%, Sm 0.1–2%, Gd 0.1–2.0%, Th 0.2–4% and U 0.2–4%. The sample is diluted in the ratio of 19 by boric acid and double layer pellets are prepared. The precision of the method which varies from 0.2–15% has been determined for every element in each standard. Accuracy of the method is assessed by comparison of the values for rare earth, thorium and uranium content with those obtained by optical emission spectroscopic method and the values for uranium and thorium with those obtained by neutron activation analysis.

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Röntgenfluorescenzmethode zur Bestimmung von Seltenen Erden, Uran und Thorium in Allaniten

Zusammenfassung Das beschriebene Verfahren eignet sich zur Bestimmung von La, Ce, Pr, Nd, Sm Gd, Th und U in Allaniten. Die Bestimmungsgrenzen für die einzelnen Elemente betragen: La 0,5–10%; Ce 2–20%; Pr 0,1–2%; Nd 0,5–10%; Sm 0,1–2%; Gd 0,1–2%; Th 0,2–4%; U 0,2–4%. Die Probe wird mit Borsäure im Verhältnis 19 vermischt und zu Doppelschicht-Tabletten gepreßt. Die Reproduzierbarkeit beträgt 0,2–15% und wurde für jedes Element im jeweiligen Standard bestimmt. Die Richtigkeit des Verfahrens wurde durch Vergleich mit Ergebnissen der Emissionsspektralanalyse (SE, U) sowie der Neutronenaktivierungsanalyse (U, Th) beurteilt.