Determination of uranium(VI) in monazite sand

The design and characterization of an argon segmented-solid phase extraction system is described. A 200 ul volume micro-column has been constructed for the preconcentration of rare earth elements (REEs) from salt matrices containing uranium. An inductively coupled plasma atomic emission spectrometer has been utilized for simultaneous detection of Sr, Y and the REEs (namely Ce, Eu, La, Nd, Pr, Sm) at levels ranging from 5- to 2000 ppm in LiC1/KCl samples containing U. Preconcentration factors of 100 fold have been demonstrated. The precision, linear dynamic range and column performance of the system will be presented.