Investigating the Feasibility of Using the Neutron Activation Analysis (NAA) Technique to Measure Industrial Pollution in Soil and Water in the Richards Bay Area
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Date
2020
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University of Zululand
Abstract
The Neutron Activation Analysis (NAA) technique is one of the reliable and most sensitive analytical techniques for analyzing materials. The technique has unique capabilities that are not found in other analytical techniques. For instance, it is relatively faster as it does not require much sample preparation, if the instrumental approach is to be used, and can analyze bulk samples.
In this study, the feasibility of using NAA to measure industrial pollution in the environmental samples (soil and water) was investigated, with Richards Bay being the area of interest. Although chemical elements are naturally present in the environment as major and trace elements, their content can increase due to anthropogenic activities. This leads to various issues that negatively affect the environment. Richards Bay is one of the towns that consist of various industries, among which are heavy industries. Thus, there is a need for routine pollution measurement, more especially in the sediments and water bodies of the area. Since the NAA technique has never been employed to measure pollution in this area, this study is aimed at investigating its sensitivity to Aluminum (Al), Chromium (Cr), Zinc (Zn), Manganese (Mn), Iron (Fe), Nickel (Ni), Cadmium (Cd) and Strontium (Sr), which are some of the typical pollutants from the various industries present in the area.
The experiments were conducted at the University of Cape Town (UCT), where two neutron sources - the Deuterium-Tritium (D-T) neutron generator and the Americium-Beryllium (AmBe) source - and a γ-ray spectrometer are available. The soil and water samples collected from the study area were irradiated and their spectra were measured using the High-purity germanium (HPGe) detector system. In addition, CRMs were also irradiated, with only the water CRM being irradiated using both sources. To complement the experiments, predictions of dominant reactions and those of interest were made using Monte Carlo method, FLUKA. The simulation results showed that NAA is more sensitive to elements in the soil than in water, thus leading to the conclusion that elements need to be present in concentrations higher than those in the water CRM. This was also observed in the experimental results
Description
A dissertation submitted in fulfillment of the academic requirements for the degree of Master of Science in the Department of Physics in the Faculty of Science, Agriculture and Engineering, University of Zululand, 2020
Keywords
Neutron Activation Analysis (NAA), Measure Industrial Pollution, Soil and Water