Speaker
Description
TrisKem International, ZAC de l’Eperon – 3 rue des Champs Geons, 35170-Bruz, FRANCE
Isotopes of Cs ($^{134}$Cs, $^{135}$Cs, $^{137}$Cs) are important markers of artificial contamination. A fast and selective separation of Cs and interfering elements is important for precise analysis using low-level ICP-MS.
A new resin (TK300) based on a calixarene and a fluorinated alcohol was developed for the separation of Cs from environmental and decommissioning samples. The resin is highly hydrophobic, accordingly 20% ethanol is used for its preconditioning.
The TK300 Resin shows the highest Dw values for Cs in 2M HNO$_3$. Loading of Cs is performed from 2 M HNO$_3$. Rinsing is performed with 2M HNO$_3$. Cs is then eluted with water. These conditions can be used for trace and elevated amounts of Cs. In case of elevated amount, 0.1-0.2 mg of Cs carrier can be used per 2 mL cartridge (the theoretical capacity is 1.45 mg Cs/g resin). In this case, 10 mL of water is enough for the elution of Cs.
Loading in more diluted acidic medium (0.1 M - 2 M HNO$_3$) is also possible for both trace and elevated amounts of Cs, but the concentrations higher than 0.5 M HNO$_3$ are preferable because of low retention of Tc in 0.1 M HNO$_3$.
Under these conditions (0.5-2M HNO$_3$), Cs was separated from most of the interfering elements, in particular Ba, which is important for ICP-MS analysis of $^{137}$Cs.