Speaker
Dr
Jixin Qiao
(Technical University of Denmark)
Description
An automated analytical method implemented in a flow injection (FI) system was developed for rapid determination of 236U in 5-10 L seawater samples. After a quick iron hydroxide co-precipitation, extraction chromatography (UTEVA) was exploited to separate and purify target analytes, whereupon 238U was used as a chemical yield tracer. Accelerator mass spectrometry (AMS) was applied for quantifying the 236U/238U ratio and inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) was used to determine the absolute concentration of 238U in the original seawater, thus the level of 236U can be calculated. The co-precipitation behaviour of uranium with iron hydroxide was studied and optimized for the sample pre-treatment as well as for the target preparation prior to AMS measurement, respectively, in order to achieve high chemical yields. The analytical results indicate that the developed method is simple and robust, providing satisfactory chemical yields (70-100%) and relatively short analytical time (4 h/sample). Based on the developed method, sweater samples collected along the Danish cost were analyzed and the distribution characters of 236U were discussed.
Primary author
Dr
Jixin Qiao
(Technical University of Denmark)
Co-authors
Dr
Peter Steier
(University of Vienna)
Dr
Robin Golser
(University of Vienna)
Prof.
Xiaolin Hou
(Technical University of Denmark)
