Hostname: page-component-77f85d65b8-jkvpf Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2026-04-22T11:20:12.281Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Upgrade of the CO2 Direct Absorption Method for Low-Level 14C Liquid Scintillation Counting

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  09 February 2016

Chiara Canducci ,
Paolo Bartolomei ,
Giuseppe Magnani ,
Antonietta Rizzo ,
Angela Piccoli ,
Laura Tositti  and
Massimo Esposito
Chiara Canducci*
Affiliation:
U-Series srl, Bologna, Italy Dipartimento di Chimica “G. Ciamician,” Università di Bologna, Italy
Paolo Bartolomei
Affiliation:
ENEA, Bologna, Italy
Giuseppe Magnani
Affiliation:
ENEA, Bologna, Italy
Antonietta Rizzo
Affiliation:
ENEA, Bologna, Italy
Angela Piccoli
Affiliation:
Nano4bio srl, Bologna, Italy
Laura Tositti
Affiliation:
Dipartimento di Chimica “G. Ciamician,” Università di Bologna, Italy
Massimo Esposito
Affiliation:
U-Series srl, Bologna, Italy
*
3 Corresponding author Email: chiara@u-series.com.
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

A new system for CO2 absorption and liquid scintillation counting (LSC) was designed and developed along with its inherent measurement protocol for radiocarbon analysis in gaseous emissions, fuels, and biobased products. CO2 is chemically trapped as a carbamate in a suitable absorbing solution (3-methoxy-propyl-amine), gravimetrically measured, and analyzed by LSC (using a QuantulusTM 1220) to determine the 14C content. The use of cryogenic traps and a pressure transducer in the system prevents the need for closed-loop recirculation or additional steps to maximize CO2 capture in a short amount of time. The choice of PTFE vials used both for CO2 pretreatment and subsequent LSC analysis provides the opportunity to significantly reduce the background counting down to 40% with respect to the low-40K glass vials. This upgrade resulted in improving the maximum detectable age back to 36,000 yr BP in routine measurements. This method therefore turns out to be flexible enough to be applied for 14C dating as well as to differentiate between modern and fossil carbon.

Information

Type
Articles
Information
Radiocarbon , Volume 55 , Issue 2: Proceedings of the 21st International Radiocarbon Conference (Part 1 of 2) , 2013 , pp. 260 - 267
Copyright
Copyright © 2013 by the Arizona Board of Regents on behalf of the University of Arizona 

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

Article purchase

Temporarily unavailable

References

International, ASTM. 2011. Method D6866 − 12: Determining the Biobased Content of Solid, Liquid, and Gaseous Samples Using Radiocarbon Analysis. West Conshohocken: ASTM International.Google Scholar
International, ASTM. 2012. Method D6866 − 12: Determining the Biobased Content of Solid, Liquid, and Gaseous Samples Using Radiocarbon Analysis. West Conshohocken: ASTM International.Google Scholar
Bronić, IK, Horvatinčić, N, Baresić, J, Obelić, B. 2009. Measurement of 14C activity by liquid scintillation counting. Applied Radiation and Isotopes 67(5):800–4.Google Scholar
Horvatinčić, N, Baresić, J, Bronić, IK, Obelić, B. 2004. Measurement of low 14C activities in a liquid scintillation counter in the Zagreb radiocarbon laboratory. Radiocarbon 46(1):105–16.Google Scholar
IPCC. 2005. IPCC Special Report on Carbon Dioxide Capture and Storage. Prepared by Working Group III of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change [Metz, B., Davidson, O., de Coninck, H. C., Loos, M., and Meyer, L. A. (eds.)]. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. 442 p.Google Scholar
IPCC. 2007. Climate Change 2007: Mitigation. Contribution of Working Group III to the Fourth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change [Metz, B., Davidson, O.R., Bosch, P.R., Dave, R., Meyer, L.A. (eds)]. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar
L'Annunziata, M. 2003. Handbook of Radioactivity Analysis. 2nd edition. London: Academic Press.Google Scholar
Leaney, FW, Herczeg, AL, Dighton, JC. 1994. New developments for the direct CO2 absorption method for radiocarbon analysis. Quaternary Science Reviews 13(2):171–8.Google Scholar
Magnani, G, Bartolomei, P, La Torretta, T, Marino, EC, Govoni, C. 2006. ENEA radiocarbon measurements I. Radiocarbon 48(1):167–75.Google Scholar
Molnár, M, Nagy, S, Svingor, É, Svetlík, I. 2006. Refining the CO2 absorption method for low-level 14C liquid scintillation counting in the ATOMKI. In: Chałupnik, S, Schönhofer, F, Noakes, JE, editors. LSC 2005: Advances in Liquid Scintillation Spectrometry. Tucson: Radiocarbon. p 407–15.Google Scholar
Nair, AR, Sinha, UK, Joseph, TB, Rao, SM. 1995. Radiocarbon dating up to 37,000 years using CO2 absorption technique. Nuclear Geophysics 9(3):263–8.Google Scholar
Noakes, J, Norton, G, Culp, R, Nigam, M, Dvoracek, D. 2006. A comparison of analytical methods for the certification of biobased products. In: Chahipnik, S, Schönhofer, F, Noakes, JE, editors. LSC 2005: Advances in Liquid Scintillation Spectrometry. Tucson: Radiocarbon. p 259–71.Google Scholar
Norton, GA, Devlin, SL. 2006. Determining the modern carbon content of biobased products using radiocarbon analysis. Biosource Technology 97(16):2084–90.Google Scholar
Onishi, T, Ninomiya, F, Kunioka, M, Funabashi, M, Ohara, K. 2010. Biomass carbon ratio of polymer composites included biomass or petroleum origin resources. Polymer Degradation and Stability 95(8):1276–83.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Qureshi, RM, Aravena, R, Fritz, P, Drimmie, R. 1989. The CO2 absorption method as an alternative to benzene synthesis method for LSC dating. Applied Geochemistry 4(6):625–33.Google Scholar
Stuiver, M, Polach, H. 1977. Discussion: reporting of 14C data. Radiocarbon 19(3):355–63.Google Scholar
Varlam, C, Stefanescu, I, Varlam, M, Popescu, I, Faurescu, I. 2007. Applying the direct absorption method and LSC for 14C concentration measurement in aqueous samples. Radiocarbon 49(2):281–9.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Vita-Finzi, C, Leaney, F. 2006. The direct absorption method of 14C assay-historical perspective and future potential. Quaternary Science Reviews 25(9–10):1073–9.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Woo, HJ, Chun, SK, Cho, SY, Kim, YS, Kang, DW, Kim, EH. 1999. Optimization of liquid scintillation counting techniques for the determination of carbon-14 in environmental samples. Journal of Radioanalytical and Nuclear Chemistry 239(3):649–55.Google Scholar