Determination of trace elements in mine soil samples using portable X-ray fluorescence spectrometer: A comparative study with ICP-OES

Abstract

Lead (Pb), Zinc (Zn) and Cadmium (Cd) levels on soils surrounding of Lakhouat mine (North-West of Tunisia) were measured. The total concentration of these elements in the soil samples was determined by portable X-ray fluorescence (XRF) in situ and compared to the traditional digestion method using inductively coupled-plasma optical emission spectroscopy (ICP-OES). Statistical analyses were performed to determine if significant differences existed between the instrumental techniques, which included simple correlations by the regression lines and t-test for mean comparison. The statistical analysis demonstrated that no statistically significant differences were observed for the Pb concentrations; however, for the Zn and Cd concentrations, t-test showed significant differences between the inst

Keywords

• Trace elements
• Mine soils
• ICP-OES
• Portable XRF
• In situ analysis