Rare earth elements in some bottled waters of Serbia

Maja Todorovic,Marina Cuk,Petar Papic,Jana Stojkovic

doi:10.2298/gabp1374071t

Abstract

Twenty-one bottled mineral and spring waters from Serbia were analyzed for 16 inorganic chemical parameters, including lanthanides and yttrium which belong to the group of so-called rare earth elements (REE). REE concentrations in the bottled water samples varied over a broad range, from 5.39 to 1585.82 ng/L. Total concentrations in the bottled water samples were calculated taking into account the classification of lanthanides into heavy (HREE) and light (LREE), with yttrium added to the HREE group. The LREE concentrations ranged from 3.62 to 1449.63 ng/L, while those of the HREE were from 0 to 136.19 ng/L. Distinct REE signatures were observed in waters that drained specific rocks. The REE patterns in groundwater from granitic and related rocks showed LREE and HREE enrichment, while groundwater with mafic rock influence exhibited slightly LREE enrichment. Several bottled water samples featured naturally-occurring carbon dioxide, whose solutional capacity contributed to the highest REE concentrations in the analyzed samples. High REE concentrations are also a result of sudden changes in oxidation-reduction conditions, which particularly affect La, Ce and Eu. Aquifers developed in granitic and related rocks (methamorphic and sedimentary rocks) constitute favorable environments for HREE in groundwater, corroborated by the occurrence of HREE in bottled water samples. The bottled water samples largely exhibited a negative cerium anomaly and nearly all the samples showed a positive europium anomaly.

Highlights

The mostly trivalent rare earth elements (REE) consist of group IIIb transitions elements Sc, Y and La and inner transitiion elements
Lanthanides and yttrium tend to concentrate within magmatic liquids and phases that occur in the later stages of magmatic activity (MCLENNAN 1999)
In addition to calcium and phosphorus, the global causes of selective REE fractioning are attributed to the general magma chemism: the Ce–group is associated with alkaline magma, while the yttrium group is associated with acidic magma (ARSENIJEVIĆ & DROMNJAK 1988)

Summary

Introduction

The mostly trivalent rare earth elements (REE) consist of group IIIb transitions elements Sc, Y and La and inner transitiion elements (or lanthanides). In geochemistry the term ‘rare earth elements’ generally refers only to the lanthanides (La–Lu). Yttrium (Y) behaves similary to the lanthanides Dy–Ho and is commonly included in discussions of the REE. Lanthanides can conditionally be divided into three groups: light (La, Ce, Pr, Nd), medium (Sm, Eu, Gd, Tb, Dy, Ho) and heavy (Er, Tm, Yb, Lu). There is a simpler classification, into the so–called cerium or light lanthanide group (La–Eu) and the yttrium group (Gd–Lu) comprised of heavy lanthanides and yttrium

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Conclusion