Determination of Sulfur, Ash, and trace Element Content of Coal, Coke, and Fly Using Multielement Tube-Excied X-ray Fluorescence Analsis

Abstract

A procedure using tube excited energy dispersive x-ray fluorescence analysis with interelement corrections has been developed for multielement analysis of major and trace elements and ash content of coal, coke, and fly ash. The procedure uses pressed pellets and an exponential correction for interelement effects. The average deviations ranged from about 0.0003% for V at an average concentration of about .003% to 0.1% for S at an average concentration of 4%. About 25 elements were measured and 100 second minimum detectable concentrations ranged from about one part per million for elements near arsenic to about one tenth of one percent for sodium.