xrf-analysis of kaolin | © CRB Analyse Service GmbH

kaoline

Key data on kaoline

Fine-grained loose rock from the phyllosilicate kaolin and feldspar, quartz.

  • Varieties: ballclay, fireclay, flintclay
  • Application: Raw material for the production of porcelain, as filler in paper making, rubber, food additive, fertiliser

Analytical techniques for the analysis of kaoline by XRF

  • Wide range of measurement programmes for the XRF-analysis of kaoline from fused beads or pressed powders
  • Screening analysis forup to 71 elements
  • Additional tests
  • Determination of bulk density and porosity
  • Carbon analysis of different modifications like TOC, TIC, TC
  • X-ray microanalysis, EDX to identify inclusions and impurities

Quantitative XRF analysis from a fused bead

Quantitative analysis of a fused bead for 12, 16, 20 or 40 elements according to DIN ISO 12677:2012, DIN EN 15309:2007

For the analysis of oxide and oxidizable samples composed of a wide range of different materials such as, for instance, glass and glass fibres, soils, rock, mineral raw materials, ceramic or mineral-bonded construction materials etc.

This process involves adding a flux, lithium tetra borate, to the sample material, followed by fusing in an oxidizing atmosphere after which the sample is rapidly cooled down to form a homogenous fused bead, which is then analysed with utmost precision.

! Please note !

In order to guarantee standard conformity of analysis the sample material must be ground to a grainsize < 63 µm, dried at 105°C and we need the value for the loss on ignition, LOI, as a kind of pre-preparation of the sample..

Consequently and if obligatory we carry out the sample preparation as mentioned obove - grinding, drying, determination of LOI - even though you have not explicitely ordered it.

Quantitative XRF analysis from a pressed powder pellet

Especially suitable for environmentally relevant samples such as, for instance, contaminated or non-contaminated soil, clarifier sludge, refuse incineration residues, but also FGD gypsum, fly ash and other material. Owing to the type of preparation, texture and grain size effects may cause identification errors of the light major elements with atomic numbers up to 15. As far as the evaluation of raw material is concerned at least the elements ranging from Na to Si should also be additionally analyzed by fusion.

The 27-element software program is especially suitable when dealing with problems for which a specific range of elements need to be analysed, such as the LAGA or the Kloke lists, the Sewage Sludge Ordinance, or EC Directives. In environmental toxicology, however, a large number of additional elements exist which are not considered in these lists of detection limits, standard and reference values.

If a contamination with one or more of these elements is suspected or when drawing up land cadastres, we recommend that a more comprehensive measurement programme for 40 or 50 elements be chosen.

In the above cases, the material is carefully prepared as follows: the sample is dried in a drying oven at a temperature of 40°C to prevent volatilisation losses of metallic or metal-organic mercury compounds, for example, and then ground in an agate mill, unless this has already been done before supplying the material.

! Please note !

In order to guarantee standard conformity of analysis the sample material must be ground to a grainsize < 63 µm, dried at 105°C and we need the value for the loss on ignition, LOI, as a kind of pre-preparation of the sample..

Consequently and if obligatory we carry out the sample preparation as mentioned obove - grinding, drying, determination of LOI - even though you have not explicitely ordered it.

Screening analysis for 71 oxides/elements

The fundamental parameter programme Omnian provides a matrix-independent, quantitative, semi-quantitative or qualitative XRF analysis of unknown samples with a variety of material properties and different organic and inorganic compositions.

Samples can be analyzed either after preparation or without preparation and non-destructively in case of a suitable composition, i.e. X-ray and vacuum stable and depending on their surface condition.This enables us to determine element concentrations between the minimum detection limit, usually 250 µg/g and 100%.

! Please note !

In order to guarantee standard conformity of analysis the sample material must be ground to a grainsize < 63 µm, dried at 105°C and we need the value for the loss on ignition, LOI, as a kind of pre-preparation of the sample..

Consequently and if obligatory we carry out the sample preparation as mentioned obove - grinding, drying, determination of LOI - even though you have not explicitely ordered it.

Standards and guidelines for XRF-analysis of kaoline

  • DIN EN ISO 12677:2013-02 - Chemical analysis of refractory products by X-ray fluorescence (XRF) - Fused cast-bead method
  • DIN EN ISO 26845:2008-06 - Chemical analysis of refractories - General requirements for wet chemical analysis, atomic absorption spectrometry (AAS) and inductively coupled plasma atomic emission spectrometry (ICP-AES) methods 
  • DIN 51001:2003-08 - Testing of oxidic raw materials and basic materials - General bases of work for X-ray fluorescence method (XRF)
  • DIN 51001 Beiblatt 1:2010-05 - Testing of oxidic raw materials and basic materials - General bases of work for X-Ray fluorescence method (XRF) - General survey on disintegration methods referred to groups of materials for the determination of test specimens for XRF
  • DIN 51081:2002-12 - Testing of oxidic raw materials and materials - Determination of change in mass on ignition
  • DIN 51418-1:2008-08 - X-ray spectrometry - X-ray emission- and X-ray fluorescence analysis (XRF) - Part 1: Definitions and basic principles
  • DIN 51418-2:2015-03 - X-ray spectrometry - X-ray emission and X-ray fluorescence analysis (XRF) - Part 2: Definitions and basic principles for measurements, calibration and evaluation of results