Separation of quartz for measurement of beryllium-10 and aluminium-26; Application of cell handler

Kokubu, Yoko   ; Utsumi, Yoshinori*; Ito, Saburo*; Shimada, Koji   

In the case of estimating erosion rates of ground surfaces from measurement of beryllium-10 and aluminum-26, quartz contained in rocks and sediments is used as a measurement sample. In this paper, we present an example of separating quartz using a cell handler, which is a cell separation system, without chemical treatment using hydrofluoric acid. By optimizing the way to apply light to the mineral sample with the cell handler and the exposure time of the camera of the cell handler, quartz and other minerals, such as feldspar, were able to be distinguished from other minerals, such as feldspar in image recognition. An experimental measurement using rock samples was then performed under these conditions. As a result, only quartz was successfully separated through a fully automatized process by that distinguishes and picks quartz using the image recognition software and picking system built into the cell handler.