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The rock powder is sintered with a sodium carbonate flux containing zinc oxide and magnesium carbonate, the sinter-cake leached with water and the resulting solution filtered. Fluorine is separated from the acidified filtrate by steam distillation and determined spectrophotometrically by means of a zirconium-SPADNS reagent. If a multiple-unit distillation apparatus is used, 12 determinations can be completed per man-day.
The moisture vapour characteristics of the banded ingredients of several coal samples are examined. The effects of grinding and the relative humidity of the ambient atmosphere on the moisture contents of the samples has been investigated.
A metalfluorechromic indicator, Calcein Blue, has been used for the back-titration of milligram amounts of EDTA in presence of gallium complexes. The indicator was used in conjunction with an ultraviolet titration assembly equipped with a cadmium sulphide detector cell and a microammeter for enhanced end-point detection. The result is a convenient and rapid method with an accuracy approaching 0.1 % and a relative standard deviation of about 0.4% for 10 mg of gallium.
A method is described for the determination of palladium down to 4ppb (parts per billion, 10 9 ), platinum down to 10 ppb and rhodium down to 5 ppb in 15 g of sample. Fire-assay techniques are used to preconcentrate the platinum metals into a gold bead, then the bead is dissolved in aqua regia and diluted to volume with 1 M hydrochloric acid. The solution is analysed by optical emission spectrography of the residue from 200 μl of it evaporated on a pair of flat-top graphite electrodes. This method requires much less sample handling than most published methods for these elements. Data are presented for G-1, W-1, and six new standard rocks of the U.S. Geological Survey. The values for palladium in W-1 are in reasonable agreement with previously published data.
Palladium and platinum are determined by atomic absorption after fire-assay concentration into a gold bead. The limit of determination is ~0·06 ppm in a 20-g sample. Serious depressive interelement interferences are removed by buffering the solutions with a mixture of cadmium and copper sulphates with cadmium and copper concentrations each at 0·5%. Substantial amounts of Ag, Al, Au, Bi, Ca, Co, Cr, Fe, Hg, K, La, Mg, Mn, Mo, Na, Ni, Pb, Te, Ti, V, Y, Zn, and the platinum metals do not interfere in the atomic-absorption determination.
Rhodium is determined in chromite concentrates by atomic absorption after concentration either by co-precipitation with tellurium formed by the reduction of tellurite with tin(II) chloride or by fire assay into a gold bead. Interelement interferences in the atomic-absorption determination are removed by buffering the solutions with lanthanum sulphate (lanthanum concentration 1%). Substantial amounts of Ag, Al, Au, Bi, Ca, Cd, Co, Cr, Cu, Fe, Ho, Hg, K, La, Mg, Mn, Mo, Na, Ni, Pb, Te, Ti, V, Y, Zn and platinum metals can be tolerated. A lower limit of approximately 0.07 ppm Rh can be determined in a 3-g sample.
Rhenium in molybdenite is separated from molybdenum by distillation of rhenium heptoxide from a perchloric-sulphuric acid mixture. It is concentrated by precipitation of the sulphide and then determined by X-ray fluorescence. From 3 to 1000 μg of rhenium can be measured with a precision generally within 2%. The procedure tolerates larger amounts of molybdenum than the usual colorimetric methods.
Because of its advantages in atomic-absorption spectroscopy, isobutyl methyl ketone was chosen as organic solvent for an extraction study on vanadium. Of eight chelating agents which were evaluated for completeness of extraction, ease of use, working pH range, and freedom from interference, cupferron was judged best.
Iridium is determined in mineralized mafic rocks by atomic absorption after fire-assay concentration into a gold bead. Interelement interferences in the atomic-absorption determination are removed and Ir sensitivity is increased by buffering the solutions with a mixture of copper and sodium sulphates. Substantial amounts of Ag, Al, Au, Bi, Ca, Cd, Co, Cr, Fe, Ho, Hg, K, La, Mg, Mn, Mo, Ni, Pb, Te, Ti, V, Y, Zn and platinum metals can be tolerated in the atomic-absorption determination. The sensitivity and detection limits are 3.2 and 0.25 ppm of Ir, respectively.
Fire-asay preconcentration followed by neutron-activation analysis permits the determination of as little as 0.5 ppM of platinum and 0.5 ppM of palladium on a 20-g sample. Platinum and palladium are separated with carriers and beta-counted. Results for the platinum and palladium content of seven U.S.G.S. standard rocks are presented.
A spectrophotometric procedure using Rhodamine B is given for the determination of antimony in mineralized rocks after its separation as stibine. A study of the Rhodamine B reaction points to the importance of the order of addition of reagents in enhancing sensitivity and increasing the stability of the system. The tolerance of some 26 elements is established for the overall procedure. Although the limit of determination is approximately 0·5 ppm Sb in a 0·2-g sample, the procedure is intended primarily for screening samples containing more than 1 ppm Sb. In pure solutions 0·1 μg of antimony can be determined with a relative standard deviation of 25%. For >0·2 μg of antimony a relative standard deviation of 15% or less can be expected.
Thirty elements are determined in coal and fly ash by instrumental neutron-activation analysis using both thermal and epithermal irradiation. Gamma-ray spectra were recorded 7 and 20 days after the irradiations. The procedure is applicable to the routine analysis of coals and fly ash. Epithermal irradiation was found preferable for the determination of Ni, Zn, As, Se, Br, Rb, Sr, Mo, Sb, Cs, Ba, Sm, Tb, Hf, Ta, W, Th and U, whereas thermal irradiation was best for Sc, Cr, Fe, Co, La, Ce, Nd, Eu, Yb and Lu. Results for SRM 1632 (coal) and SRM 1633 (fly ash) agree with those of other investigators.
A method is described for the atomic-absorption determination of beryllium in geological materials, that utilizes electrothermal atomization after a separation by solvent extraction. Samples are decomposed with hydrofluoric acid and nitric acid in Teflon-lined pressure decomposition vessels. Beryllium is isolated by its extraction as beryllium acetylacetonate at pH 8 into xylene and back-extraction in 3 M hydrochloric acid. The method has been successfully applied to the determination of beryllium in 14 U.S. Geological Survey standard rocks. Four subsamples from four bottles of each standard sample were analysed in random order. The mean beryllium contents (ppm) are: AGV-1, 1.98; PCC-1, 0.024; MAG-1, 2.84; BHVO-1, 0.90; DTS-1, 0.026; SCo-1, 1.74; SDC-1, 2.52; BCR-1, 1.44; GSP-1, 1.22; SGR-1, 0.86; QLO-1, 1.83; RGM-1, 2.21; STM-1, 8.75; G-2, 2.29. An analysis of variance shows that all the samples may be considered homogeneous at F 0.95 except AGV-1 and DTS-1 which may be considered homogeneous at F 0.99 .
Suppression caused by five of the seven matrix elements studied (Si, Al, Fe, Ca and Mg) was observed in the atomic-absorption determination of manganese in geological materials, when synthetic solutions and the recommended oxidizing air—acetylene flame were used. The magnitude of the suppression effects depends on (1) the kind and concentration of the interfering elements, (2) the type of acid medium, and (3) the concentration of manganese to be determined. All interferences noted are removed or alleviated by using a reducing nitrous oxide—acetylene flame. The atomic-absorption method using this flame can be applied to the determination of total and extractable manganese in a wide range of geological materials without interferences. Analyses of six U.S. Geological Survey rock standards for manganese gave results in agreement with the reported values.
Lead was determined in 13 U.S. Geological Survey standard rocks by graphite furnace atomization and atomic-absorption spectrometry after extraction of lead with diethylammonium diethyldithiocarbamic acid. An analysis of variance of the results obtained from a random sampling of three different bottles of each standard rock showed no heterogeneity among bottles, at the F0.95 level, for a 100-mg sample-size. The relative error of the method, based on the standard deviation of the mean within bottles, was generally less than 10%.
The predominant species of arsenic in ground water are probably arsenite and arsenate. These can be separated with a strong anion-exchange resin (Dowex 1 × 8; 100–200 mesh, acetate form) in a 10 cm × 7 mm column. Samples are filtered and acidified with concentrated hydrochloric acid (1 ml per 100 ml of sample) at the sample site. Five ml of the acidified sample are used for the separation. At this acidity, As(III) passes through the acetate-form resin, and As(V) is retained. As(V) is eluted by passage of 0.12 M hydrochloric acid through the column (resulting in conversion of the resin back into the chloride form). Samples are collected in 5-ml portions up to a total of 20 ml. The arsenic concentration in each portion is determined by graphite-furnace atomic-absorption spectrophotometry. The first two fractions give the As(III) concentration and the last two the As(V) concentration. The detection limit for the concentration of each species is 1 μg l "> μ gl.
A method is presented for the determination of chlorine in geological materials, in which a chloride-selective ion electrode is used after decomposition of the sample with hydrofluoric acid and separation of chlorine in a gas-diffusion cell. Data are presented for 30 geological standard materials. The relative standard deviation of the method is estimated to be better than 8% for amounts of chloride of 10 μg and greater.