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Preconcentration and inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometric determination of lanthanides in natural and sea waters

Conference ·
OSTI ID:273578
Rare earth elements are an extremely coherent group, so that their relative abundance can be used to deduce their sources in sedimentary deposits. Also the data can be utilized to understand marine geochemistry. Hence the preconcentration of REE including Y and Sc has been studied on activated carbon (AC). Since this is the first time that sorption of REE on AC is reported, all experimental parameters have been optimized. The optimum pH is found to be between 5 to 7. Above pH 7 and below pH 5, the sorption on AC is not quantitative. Studies on the effect of weight of carbon indicated that 0.5 g of AC is adequate for quantitative sorption of REE. The REE from AC after filtration and washing are desorbed by boiling for 10 minutes with 25 ml of 2.46 M nitric acid. The REE are preconcentrated from two liters of sample solution to 5 ml, this making the effective preconcentration factor of 400. The concentration of REE in preconcentrated sample solution volume are about 10 times their detection limits by ICP-MS.
OSTI ID:
273578
Report Number(s):
CONF-960113--
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English