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Updated: Jan 2, 2026

Detecting the Water-soluble Chloride Distribution of Cement Paste in a High-precision Way
Published on: November 21, 2017
Methods for the stable isotopic analysis of chlorine in chlorate and perchlorate compounds
M Ader1, M L Coleman, S P Doyle
1Postgraduate Research Institute for Sedimentology, The University of Reading, Whiteknights, UK.
Abstract:
Chlorate and perchlorate compounds, used as herbicides, solid fuel propellants, and explosives, are increasingly recognized as pollutants in groundwater. Stable isotope characterization would permit both environmental monitoring of extent of remediation and forensic characterization. Stoichiometric reduction to chloride (greater than 98% yield), by Fe(II) for chlorate and alkaline fusion-decomposition for perchlorate, allows analysis by standard methods to give highly reproducible and accurate delta37Cl results (0.05/1000, 2 x standard error). Analysis of various compounds from different suppliers yielded delta37Cl values for chlorate samples near to +0.2/1000 (SMOC), but one has within-sample heterogeneity of 0.5/1000, possibly due to crystallization processes during manufacture. Results for perchlorate samples also are generally near +0.2/1000, but one is +2.3/1000 (SMOC). The initial results suggest that both forensic and environmental applications might be feasible.
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