Determination of barium, strontium and nine minor and trace elements in impure barite and strontianite by inductively-coupled plasma atomic-emission spectrometry after dissolution in disodium ethylenediaminetetraacetate.

A new method has been developed for the determination of barium, strontium, silicon and nine minor and trace elements of barite and strontianite associated with gangue materials. It involves dissolution of the sample by boiling under reflux with a concentrated solution of disodium ethylenedi-aminetetraacetate (EDTA-2Na) in the presence of ammonium hydroxide. Barite and strontianite dissolve quantitatively under this condition, and any associated silicate and sulphide mineral impurities, remaining insoluble, are filtered off and ignited to constant weight in a platinum crucible. Silica is determined gravimetrically by heating the residue with concentrated sulphuric and hydrofluoric acids, followed by ignition to oxides. The residue is fused with sodium bisulphate and dissolved in dilute sulphuric acid. After suitable dilution of the EDTA-2Na solution, Ba, Sr, Be, Co, Cr, Cu, La, Ni, V, Yb and Zn are determined by inductively-coupled plasma atomic-emission spectrometry (ICP-AES). The bisulphate fusion product is separately analysed by ICP-AES, and the elements found are combined with those obtained from the EDTA-2Na solution. The replicate values of this work compare well with each other and with other values obtained by independent methods.