Spectrophotometric determination of bismuth in concentrates and non-ferrous alloys by the iodide method after separations by diethyldithiocarbamate and xanthate extraction.
A method for determining 0.0001-1% of bismuth in copper, molybdenum, lead, zinc and nickel sulphide concentrates is described. After sample decomposition, bismuth is separated from matrix and other elements, except lead and thallium(III), by chloroform extraction of its diethyldithiocarbamate complex, pH 11.5-12.0, from a sodium hydroxide medium containing citric acid, tartaric acid, EDTA and potassium cyanide as complexing agents. Following back-extraction of bismuth into 12M hydrochloric acid and reduction of thallium to the univalent state, bismuth is separated from co-extracted lead and thallium by chloroform extraction of its xanthate from a 2.5M hydrochloric acid-tartaric acid-ammonium chloride medium. Bismuth is then determined spectrophotometrically, at 337 or 460 nm, as the iodide. Interference from lead, which is co-extracted in mug-amounts as the xanthate and causes high results at 337 nm, is eliminated by washing the extract with a hydrochloric acid solution of the same composition as the medium used for extraction. The proposed method is also applicable to lead-, tin- and copper-base alloys.
Donaldson
E M
EM
Mineral Sciences Laboratories, Canada Centre for Mineral and Energy Technology, Department of Energy, Mines and Resources, Ottawa, Canada.