Abstract
Uranium (U) is a natural but undesired heavy metal in rock phosphates and processed phosphorus fertilizers. Analytical methods employing the direct de-termination of U through α-spectroscopy or ICP mass spectrometry are tedious and expensive, require sophisticated laboratory equipment and skilled staff. This contribution describes an easy to perform test based on a low-cost gamma-ray spectroscopy system. The determination of U was carried out through its only gas-eous decay product Radon (222Rn). Seven straight and compound fertilizer samples with different U and K content were measured and the spectra compared to that of the U-containing mineral schrockingerite.
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© 2015 Springer International Publishing Switzerland
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Jacobs, F., Riedl, S., Sesselmann, S., Schnug, E. (2015). Determination of uranium in mineral phosphate fertilizers using a low cost gamma spectroscope. In: Merkel, B., Arab, A. (eds) Uranium - Past and Future Challenges. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-11059-2_98
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-11059-2_98
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