XRF analysis of mineralogical matrix effects and differences between pulverized and fused ferromanganese slag

A determination and analysis is only as good as the sample preparation that processed it .Even the most sophisticated analysis is worthless if it follows sloppy sampling and poor preparation. Whether one does plasma emission, infrared or X-ray fluorescence or other spectroscopic technique it is essential to get reproducible and accurate analysis. This paper shows the effect of mineralogical matrix differences in quantitative measurements by XRF of the main elements (Al, Ca, Mg, Si, Mn and K as oxides) of ferromanganese alloy slag. Fused and pulverized slag show a significant difference in XRF microstructure, micro heterogeneity and mineralogy although the results of measurements between pulverized and fused slag, expressed as a percentage of the main elements is not different. Other analytical techniques such as ICP-OES and classical gravimetric and titrimetric were also used for checking the XRF calibration accuracy.