The evaluation of the x-ray fluorescence (XRF) technique for process monitoring of vitreous slag from thermal waste treatment systems: A comparative study of the analysis of Plasma Hearth slag for Ce, Fe and Cr by XRF and inductively coupled plasma spectrometries

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Slag material produced by the Plasma Hearth Process (PHP) varies in chemical composition due to the heterogeneous nature of the input sample feed. X-ray fluorescence (XRF) is a spectroscopic technique which has been evaluated to perform elemental analyses on surrogate slag material for process control. Vitreous slag samples were ground to a fine powder in an impact ball mill and analyzed directly using laboratory prepared standards. The fluorescent intensities of Si, Al and Fe in the slag samples was utilized to determine the appropriate matrix standard set for the determination of Ce. The samples were analyzed for Cr, Ni, Fe and Ce using a wavelength dispersive XRF polychromator. Split samples were dissolved and analyzed by Inductively Coupled Plasma-Atomic Emission Spectrometry (ICP-AES). The precision of the XRF technique was better than 5% RSD. The limit of detection for Ce varied with sample matrix and was typically below 0.01% by weight. The linear dynamic range for the technique was evaluated over two orders of magnitude. Typical calibration standards ranged from 0.01% Ce to 1% Ce. The Ce determinations performed directly on ground slag material by the XRF techniques were similar to ICP-AES analyses. Various chemical dissolution and sample preparation techniques were evaluated for the analysis of Ce in slag samples. A fusion procedure utilizing LiBO{sub 2} was found to provide reliable analyses for the actinide surrogate in a variety of slag matrices. The use of the XRF technique reduced the time of analysis for Ce and Cr from three days to one day for five samples. No additional waste streams were created from the analyses by the XRF technique, while the ICP technique generated several liters of liquid waste.