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Sodium metatungstate: a new heavy-mineral separation medium for the extraction of conodonts from insoluble residues

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  19 May 2016

Stanley T. Krukowski
Stanley T. Krukowski*
Affiliation:
Department of Geoscience, New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology, Socorro 87801
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Extract

Sodium metatungstate (SMT), 3Na2WO4 · 9WO3 · H2O, is a nontoxic (Sax, 1979), high-density (1.00-3.10 g/cm3) separating compound which results in nearly neutral (pH 6) solutions of relatively low viscosity. It was presented as a medium for density gradient centrifugation by Plewinsky and Kamp (1984). Since then, investigators have used SMT (or sodium polytungstate) as a high-density medium for routine mineral separations, for recovery of conodonts from insoluble residues, for separation of various feldspar species from one another, and for segregation of inorganic mineral fractions (ash) from coal.

Type
Paleontological Notes
Information
Journal of Paleontology , Volume 62 , Issue 2 , March 1988 , pp. 314 - 316
Copyright
Copyright © The Paleontological Society 

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