An improved non-destructive method of potassium determination

The simplest non-destructive method of potassium determination is to co-relate the fixed abundance of naturally occurring 40K with the total amount of potassium. Earlier this relationship was applied by measuring the β− activity of 40K in a sample by Geiger counter. However, merely this simple linear relationship has been applied through gamma spectrometric measurement of 40K activity, might be due to the huge interference of the 40K background. We have demonstrated that heavily shielded Compton Suppressor System reduces the background in such extent that the total amount of K in a sample can be measured by measuring the area of the 40K photo peak (at 1460.82 keV). The developed method requires neither chemical treatment of the sample like dissolution or digestion, nor irradiation of the sample in a nuclear reactor and therefore truly follows green chemistry principles, minimizing the chemicals and hazards. The method has been validated using NIST SRMs. The developed method was compared with WDXRF and ICPOES measurement.

► The developed method for potassium determination is non-destructive.
► The method does not need any chemical, or any types of sample treatment.
► It does not need a nuclear reactor to irradiate the sample or even an external excitation source.
► The method relies on the fixed abundance of naturally occurring 40K to total potassium.
► Use of Compton suppressor helps to determine total K by measuring 40K in small sample.