Comparison of inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry with inductively coupled plasma atomic emission spectrometry and instrumental neutron activation analysis for the determination of rare earth elements in Greek bauxites

Abstract

For the determination of rare earth elements (REE) in bauxitic materials the techniques of inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS), inductively coupled plasma atomic emission spectrometry (ICP-AES) and instrumental neutron activation analysis (IN AA) were compared. In the NIST (National Institute of Standards and Technology) bauxites SRM 697 Dominican, and SRM 69 b Arkansas, the concentration of some REEs were determined. With the reference bauxite BX-N of the ARNT (Association Nationale de la Recherche Technique) the precision and acccuracy of ICP-AES for the determination of REEs in bauxites was tested. Furthermore, Greek bauxites of the Parnassos-Gióna area were investigated. In a comparison of the three methods it was possible to calculate from the data series the precision of each method, which showed that the tendency found in the deviations for the different REEs is in acccordance with published values. Also the limits of detection for REEs in bauxites were calculated and found to be in the same range of those in the literature.