Microwave dissolution of plant tissue and the subsequent determination of trace lanthanide and actinide elements by inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry

Technical Report · Fri Aug 01 04:00:00 EDT 1997

DOI:https://doi.org/10.2172/513544· OSTI ID:513544

Alvarado, J S; Neal, T J; Smith, L L; Erickson, M D

Recently there has been much concern with the ability of plants to uptake heavy metals from their surroundings. With the development of instrumental techniques with low detection limits such as inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry (ICP-MS), attention is shifting toward achieving faster and more elegant ways of oxidizing the organic material inherent in environmental samples. Closed-vessel microwave dissolution was compared with conventional methods for the determination of concentrations of cerium, samarium, europium, terbium, uranium and thorium in a series of samples from the National Institute of Standards and Technology and from fields in Idaho. The ICP-MS technique exhibited detection limits in parts-per-trillion and linear calibration plots over three orders of magnitude for the elements under study. The results obtained by using nitric acid and hydrogen peroxide in a microwave digestion system for the analysis of reference materials showed close agreement with the accepted values. These values were compared with results obtained from dry- and wet-ashing procedures. The findings from an experiment comparing radiometric techniques for the determination of actinide elements to ICP-MS are reported.

• Research Organization: Argonne National Lab., IL (United States)
• Sponsoring Organization: USDOE Office of Energy Research, Washington, DC (United States)
• DOE Contract Number: W-31109-ENG-38
• OSTI ID: 513544
• Report Number(s): ANL/ER/PP--86709; ON: DE97008530
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES
BIOLOGICAL ACCUMULATION
CERIUM
DIGESTION
EUROPIUM
ICP MASS SPECTROSCOPY
METALS
MICROWAVE HEATING
PLANTS
QUANTITATIVE CHEMICAL ANALYSIS
SAMARIUM
TERBIUM
THORIUM
TRACE AMOUNTS
UPTAKE
URANIUM