Ion Exchange Separation of Minor Elements from Iron for the Analysis of S/G Sludge

Some minor elements(Al, B, Ba, Ca, Cd, Co, Cr, Cu, Gd, Mg, Mn, Mo, Nd, Ni, P, Pb, Si, Sn, Sr, Ti, V, Yb, Zn and Zr) in iron compounds such as the S/G sludge of a power plant were separated from iron by anionic and cationic exchange methods. If a ICP-AES or AAS determination follows this method, minor elements of more than 2 or 20 ppm of Fe can be determined with an error less than 20% except Sn and Mo. Alkaline elements were excluded from this study since they can be easily recovered from an anionic exchange. Application to real sludge samples is ongoing.