Determination of REE, U, Th, Ba, and Zr in simulated hydrogeological leachates by ICP-AES after matrix solvent extraction

A fast, reliable and precise method for the determination of Ba, Zr, Th, U, La, Ce, Eu, Hf and Gd in leaching solutions containing up to 1 mol/L FeCl3 by inductively coupled plasma-atomic emission spectrometry (ICP-AES) was described. Liquid-liquid extraction with diethyl ether was applied for selective and quantitative extraction of the iron with a decontamination factor of 65000. The study has enabled the determination of rare earth elements, U, Th Ba, and Zr, from the solution with high iron content with detection limits in the range of 1–24 ng/ml and a precision of 0.9%–4.6 % relative standard deviation. The developed method was simple and was adopted for implementation in a glove box for handling radioactive materials.