Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jul 15, 2026

Separation of Uranium and Thorium for 230Th-U Dating of Submarine Hydrothermal Sulfides
Published on: May 20, 2019
Rapid uranium preconcentration and separation method from fresh water samples for total U and 235U/238U isotope ratio
1Office of Biospheric Assessment for Waste Disposal, National Institute of Radiological Sciences, Anagawa 4-9-1, Inage-ku, Chiba 263-8555, Japan. k tagami@nirs.go.jp
Abstract:
A simple and rapid method using TRU resin cartridges (Eichrom Technologies, Inc., USA) and quadrupole ICP-MS for total uranium (U) and 235U/238U isotope ratio measurements in fresh water samples was investigated. After U extraction on the resin by sample solution loading, three alkaline reagents, tetramethyl ammonium hydroxide (TMAH), NaOH and NH4OH were studied for U elution behavior from the resin cartridges and applicability of these eluates was evaluated with respect to direct introduction to ICP-MS. Among the studied eluants, TMAH showed the best results with high U recovery and no counting interferences with internal standard elements such as thallium and bismuth. Moreover, U in water samples was separated from many major and minor elements with the TRU cartridges. Almost all U was concentrated in 10 mL of 0.014 M TMAH in 2 h using 200 mL of water sample.
Related Concept Videos
Inductively Coupled Plasma–Mass Spectrometry (ICP–MS): Overview
Precipitation and Co-precipitation
Inductively Coupled Plasma-Mass Spectrometry (ICP-MS): Interferences
Inductively Coupled Plasma Atomic Emission Spectroscopy: Principle
The ions and electrons produced interact with the fluctuating magnetic field created by a water-cooled...
Microbial Bioremediation of Uranium
Sample Preparation for Analysis: Advanced Techniques
Acid digestion with strong acids is commonly used to dissolve inorganic materials that are insoluble (do not dissolve) in water. This method can be useful for...

