Thorium determination in aqueous solutions after separation by ion-exchange and liquid extraction

The concentration of thorium in aqueous samples has been determined by means of alpha-spectroscopy and UV-Vis photometry after chemical separation and pre-concentration of the actinide by cation exchange and liquid-liquid extraction using Chelex-100 resin and 30%TBP in dodecan, respectively. Method calibration was performed using thorium standard solutions and resulted in a high chemical recovery for cation exchange and liquid extraction. Regarding, the effect of physicochemical parameters (e.g., pH, salinity, competitive cations, and colloidal species) on the separation recovery of thorium from aqueous solutions by cation exchange has also been investigated. The investigation was performed to evaluate the applicability of cation exchange and liquid extraction as separation and pre-concentration methods prior to the quantitative analysis of thorium in water samples, and has shown that the method could be successfully applied to waters with relatively low-salinity and metal ion contamination.