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

Rare earth elements (REEs) in industrial waste incineration fly ash were de termined by ICP-MS (inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry) after LiB O2 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 mann er to that for industrial waste incineration fly ash. In industrial waste i ncineration fly ash, REEs were contained over the concentration range from 35.0 mug g(-1) for Ce to 0.021 mug g(-1) for Lu, which were relatively lowe r than those in coal fly ash. The REE distribution patterns for industrial waste incineration fly ash and coal fly ash were also examined by normalizi ng 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, althoug h the distributions of REEs in coal fly ash showed some similarities to tha t in continental shale. In addition, the elution behaviors of REEs from ind ustrial waste incineration fly ash were also investigated by leaching the a sh 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.