Radiotracer analysis of the physico-chemical state of trace elements in aqueous solutions

Theoretical and experimental analysis of the open-ended capillary diffusion method for study of the state of trace elements in aqueous solutions is presented. It is shown by theoretical considerations that the use of the discontinuous capillary method of diffusion and the evaluation of single measurements using the classical Anderson-Saddington equation yields incorrect diffusion coefficients if two or more forms of the trace element with significantly different diffusion characteristics are simultaneously present in the solution. A new method for the evaluation of diffusion is suggested, which enables calculation of the abundance of two different forms of a trace element. The method employs a continuous measurement of diffusion combined with computer analysis of the data obtained. Verification of the method is carried out for a particular case using trace radiocerium. The effect of adsorption on the diffusion measurement and interpretation is discussed.