Selective preconcentration of gallium using Muromac A-1 ion exchange column

A method utilizing an ion-exchange column of Muromac A-1 has been developed for the selective preconcentration and separation of gallium from other elements like Cu, Pb, Zn, Ni, Co, Mn, Fe, Cd and Indium. A seawater sample adjusted to pH 5.5 with acetate buffer is passed through the Muromac A-1 column and then gallium is selectively and quantitatively eluted using 2 M ammonia as the eluent. The elution curves at various pH values clearly indicate that the recovery of gallium is quantitative between pH 3.0–7.0. Further, as a comparison the elution of gallium on various other chelating resins like Chelex-100, 7-dodecenyl-8-quinolinol impregnated on XAD-4, Fractogel immobilized hydroxy quinoline was also investigated using different eluents like 2 M hydrochloric acid, 2 M nitric acid and 2 M ammonia.