Title: Method and apparatus for extraction of strontium from urine

Abstract

The present invention provides an apparatus and rapid methods for extracting strontium ions from urine to provide a concentrated and purified strontium-90 extract suitable for scintillation measurements. The methods remove organic compounds, pigments, and alkali metal ions that can interfere with quantitative determination of strontium-90 in urine. A method of the invention comprises acidifying urine and removing organic pigments therefrom, loading a known quantity of so-treated urine onto a diphosphonic acid-based ion-exchange resin; flowing aqueous methanesulfonic acid through the diphosphonic acid-based ion-exchange resin to elute alkali metal ions therefrom; eluting strontium ions off of the diphosphonic acid-based resin and on to a strontium extraction chromatographic resin with a concentrated aqueous nitric acid solution; subsequently flowing water or a dilute acid stripping solution through the strontium extraction resin to strip the strontium from the strontium extraction resin; and collecting the strontium-containing stripping solution eluting from the strontium extraction resin.

Inventors:

Kaminski, Michael D.; Mertz, Carol J.; Shkrob, Ilya A.; Dietz, Mark L.; Hawkins, Cory A.

Issue Date:

Tue Aug 13 00:00:00 EDT 2013

Research Org.:

Argonne National Laboratory (ANL), Argonne, IL (United States)

Sponsoring Org.:

USDOE

OSTI Identifier:

1531865

Patent Number(s):

8507284

Application Number:

13/182,873

Assignee:

UChicago Argonne, LLC (Chicago, IL)

Patent Classifications (CPCs):

B - PERFORMING OPERATIONS B01 - PHYSICAL OR CHEMICAL PROCESSES OR APPARATUS IN GENERAL B01D - SEPARATION

C - CHEMISTRY C01 - INORGANIC CHEMISTRY C01F - COMPOUNDS OF THE METALS BERYLLIUM, MAGNESIUM, ALUMINIUM, CALCIUM, STRONTIUM, BARIUM, RADIUM, THORIUM, OR OF THE RARE-EARTH METALS

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B - PERFORMING OPERATIONS B01 - PHYSICAL OR CHEMICAL PROCESSES OR APPARATUS IN GENERAL B01D - SEPARATION

B01D15/1871 - {placed in series}
B01D15/363 - {Anion-exchange}
B01D15/3847 - {Multimodal interactions}

C - CHEMISTRY C01 - INORGANIC CHEMISTRY C01F - COMPOUNDS OF THE METALS BERYLLIUM, MAGNESIUM, ALUMINIUM, CALCIUM, STRONTIUM, BARIUM, RADIUM, THORIUM, OR OF THE RARE-EARTH METALS

C01F11/005 - {Preparation involving liquid-liquid extraction, absorption or ion-exchange}
C01F11/36 - Nitrates

G - PHYSICS G01 - MEASURING G01N - INVESTIGATING OR ANALYSING MATERIALS BY DETERMINING THEIR CHEMICAL OR PHYSICAL PROPERTIES

G01N33/493 - urine
G01N33/84 - involving inorganic compounds or pH

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DOE Contract Number:  

AC02-06CH11357

Resource Type:

Patent

Resource Relation:

Patent File Date: 2011-07-14

Country of Publication:

United States

Language:

English

Subject:

61 RADIATION PROTECTION AND DOSIMETRY; 63 RADIATION, THERMAL, AND OTHER ENVIRON. POLLUTANT EFFECTS ON LIVING ORGS. AND BIOL. MAT.; 37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CHEMISTRY; 38 RADIATION CHEMISTRY, RADIOCHEMISTRY, AND NUCLEAR CHEMISTRY; 59 BASIC BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES