RAPID ANALYSIS OF COAL FLY-ASH BY X-RAY-FLUORESCENCE SPECTROMETRY

High‐quality data for major elements (Si, Al, Fe, Ca, Mg, Ti, Na and K) and trace elements (Ba, Mn, Cr, V, Cu, Zn, Sr, Ni, Co, As and Rb) can be rapidly obtained by automated x‐ray fluorescence analysis of pressed coal fly ash pellets. The sample preparation procedure does not require supervision and the analysis of a fly ash pellet for 24 elements requires about 45 min of machine time. The basic idea is to use a large number of reference samples with very different compositions (some international coal fly ash standards and fly ash samples analysed by neutron activation analysis and by inductively coupled plasma atomic emission spectrometry) for calculation of the calibration line. The major element precisions are better than 1% of the amount determined and the trace element precisions are generally better than 10%. Limits of determination for many trace elements are in the range 5‐10 μg g−1. Copyright © 1990 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.