The separation of the 34S isotope was carried out by isotopic exchange between sulfurous acid in solution and bisulfite anions adsorbed on a quaternary ammonium (Dowex 1X8 and Dowex 2X8, 100-200 mesh) packed in six anion exchange columns. Each resin column packed with the anion exchange resin had a height of 115 cm and 2.2 cm in diameter. The columns were connected in series during the displacement of bisulfite bands. For the experiments, a band of bisulfite was fixed to the anion resin, initially in the hydroxyl ion form, and subsequently eluted with 0.2, 0.3, 0.4, or 0.6 mol L-1 HCl solution. The hydrochloric acid solution was kept under nitrogen at 245 kPa, in order to prevent the evolution of gases and the oxidation of the bisulfite band. The experiments with the Dowex 1X8 resin showed that the best results in terms of maximum enrichment (18.66 atom %34S) and total34S accumulated mass (161.7 mg, excess) were obtained by elution of the bisulfite band for 50 m with 0.2 and 0.3 mol L-1 HCl, respectively. The depleted portion of the band was periodically replaced with natural bisulfite, at 10 m intervals during elution.
isotopic enrichment; stable isotope; enriched sulphur; 34S
