Determination of iron and titanium in kaolins by the method of non-dispersive X-ray fluorescence

Abstract

The possibility of application of the radioactive source excited X-ray fluorescence analysis for titanium and iron determination in kaolins to the routine test of the refinement process has been studied. The iron content can be determined with a simple counting system using a single-channel pulse height analyser, argon filled proportional counter and109Cd source of 3 mCi for the excitation of K Fe rays. The samples were analysed both as pellets and powders. The iron content ranged from 0.2–2.5% and titanium from 0.1–0.64%. For simultaneous determination of titanium and iron a Si(Li) spectrometer has been used. The238Pu source has been used for K Fe and K Ti excitation. It is the most convenient source for simultaneous determination of titanium and iron.55Fe is the most efficient source for the determination of titanium alone. The best values of precision and determination limit have been achieved for iron with238Pu and for titanium with55Fe.