Trace and Major Elements Analysis of Alternative Solid Fuels by Means of Inductively Coupled Plasma Mass Spectrometry: Comparison with Atomic Absorption Spectrometry and X-ray Fluorescence Results

Abstract

This work offers a comprehensive examination of ICP-MS as a higher-level analytical method compared to atomic absorption spectrometry (AAS) and X-ray fluorescence (XRF). Comparisons between the ICP-MS average mean difference and AAS were made with the determination of the concentration of trace elements in the same solid alternative fuel samples, while comparisons between ICP-MS and XRF were made by the determination of the concentration of major elements in the same solid alternative fuel samples, resulting in the superiority of the method. The results of the relative mean differences (RDMs) between ICP-MS (7.56%) and XRF (9.42%) regarding the concentration of major elements compared with the reference values in solid biofuel samples, while the RDMs for the solid recovered fuel samples were 8.9% for ICP-MS and 12.27% for XRF. The same procedure was followed for the determination of the concentration of trace elements with ICP-MS and AAS, thus obtaining the results for solid biofuel samples (average %RMDICP-MS = 12.77 and RMDAAS = 13.9) and SRF samples (average %RMDICP-MS = 10.02 and RDMAAS = 11.10) in relation to the reference values. While acknowledging that the initial cost and complexity of operation may deter some from adopting ICP-MS, the study asserts that the advantages of enhanced precision, sensitivity and speed of analysis validate the investment. Hence, ICP-MS is an extremely important laboratory tool used in modern physics and chemistry and has a wide range of applications: biological materials, high purity reagents and metals, atomic nuclear materials, geological samples and food.

Keywords

• ICP-MS
• AAS
• XRF
• biomass
• SRF