Off-Line and On-Line Determination of Eleven Rare Earth Elements in Silicate Rocks by ICP-AES Using Dowex Minicolumns for Separation of Interfering Elements in Continuous Flow Systems

The methodologies developed in this work comprise ion-exchange separation of interfering elements from rare earth elements (Fe, Al and Ca), by using resin minicolumns (Dowex-50W-X8 200-400 mesh) for the determination of La, Ce, Nd, Sm, Eu, Gd, Dy, Ho, Er, Yb and Lu by inductively coupled plasma-atomic emission spectrometry, using both off-line and on-line continuous flow systems. These methods can be used to determine rare earth elements in common silicate rocks, such as granite, basalt, rhyolite and andesite. Thirteen geochemical reference materials were used to evaluate the accuracy and precision of the off-line and on-line methods. Chondrite-normalized diagrams were obtained and compared to values reported in the literature. When compared to conventional procedures, the proposed methods provide fast and low cost rare earth elements determinations in the analysis of silicate rocks. Eighteen samples per hour could be analysed by the proposed method using the automated procedure for the determination of the eleven rare earth elements.