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RESEARCH PRODUCT

Quantitative analysis of chromite ores using glass discs in moderate dilutions of lithium tetraborate by x-ray fluorescence spectrometry

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A method for the quantitative analysis of chromite ores by x-ray fluorescence spectrometry using beads is proposed. The work concerned the serious problems caused by the refractory nature of these materials which prevents the use of glass discs in x-ray fluorescence. An in-depth study was done to optimise the variables which influence the glass disc formation process. Sufficiently homogeneous glass discs were obtained under the following experimental conditions: lithium tetraborate as flux with moderate sample dilution (1:40), with the addition of one or two drops of LiBr solution(250 g l−1), at a temperature of 1200 °C for 30 min. The qualitative and semiquantitative results for the chromite ores provided synthetic standards based on combinations of similar reference materials and different pure ignited oxides. These standards were used to obtain the calibration curves for Cr, Si, Al, Fe, Ti, Ca, Mn, Mg, Na and K oxides, with root mean square error always below 0.357. The calibration curves were used in the quantitative analysis of chromite ores with satisfactory accuracy, justifying compensation of the interelemental effects. The suggested method is an efficient solution to the problems with the quantitative analysis of this type of material by XRF. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.