Determination of rare earth elements in industrial waste incineration fly ash by ICP-MS and the characteristics of the rare earth element distribution pattern

Abstract

Rare earth elements (REEs) in industrial waste incineration fly ash were determined by ICP-MS (inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry) after LiBO2 fusion. The REEs in coal fly ash standard reference materials (NIST SRM 1633b and SRM 2691) were also determined for a comparison in a similar manner to that for industrial waste incineration fly ash. In industrial waste incineration fly ash, REEs were contained over the concentration range from 35.0 μg g-1 for Ce to 0.021 μg g-1 for Lu, which were relatively lower than those in coal fly ash. The REE distribution patterns for industrial waste incineration fly ash and coal fly ash were also examined by normalizing their concentrations with those in continental shale. They provided the characteristic distribution patterns, especially in terms of light REEs (La, Ce, Pr, Nd), Eu, and Tb in industrial waste incineration fly ash, although the distributions of REEs in coal fly ash showed some similarities to that in continental shale. In addition, the elution behaviors of REEs from industrial waste incineration fly ash were also investigated by leaching the ash sample in a 1 M HNO3 solution. The analytical results for REEs and their distribution patterns reflected a large amount of industrial usage of REEs in modern society. © 2001 The Japan Society for Analytical Chemistry.