A comparison of the concentrations and geochemical patterns of uranium and rare earth elements (REEs) in soil from, Saudi Arabia

Abstract

Rare earth elements (REEs) are important tracers used in the modeling of various geochemical processes. This work aims to establish the current contents and geochemical pattern of uranium and rare earth elements in the soil of Ras Tanura, Saudi Arabia. The instrument utilized was the ICPE-9820 Shimadzu Japan, which employs inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectrometry (ICP-OES) to measure eight REEs (Eu, Hf, La, Lu, Sm, Tb, Yb, and Ce) and uranium. The values of uranium concentrations ranged from 0.07 to 5.72 mg/kg with an average of 3.30 mg/kg. The concentrations of rare earth elements (mg/kg) varied from 6.35 to 0.25 for Eu, 21.2–0.53 for La, 1.74–0.11 for Lu, 5.14–0.20 for Sm, 13.6–0.64 for Tb, 6.42–0.07 for Yb and 13.4–0.87 for Ce. The contents of REEs were in the following arrangement: La > Tb > Ce > Eu > Yb > Sm. The Eu/Sm and La/Lu ratio values ranged from 1.17 to 1.52 and 0.56 to 1.24, respectively. The measured data were compared with similar studies worldwide. This study provides valuable insights into the current status of uranium and rare earth element concentrations in the soil of Ras Tanura, Saudi Arabia. The results can be used to model geochemical processes and serve as a baseline for future environmental monitoring and assessment in the region.