Applied Rigaku Technologies, Inc. announced a new empirical method for the elemental analysis of titanium and iron in kaolin clay. Application Note #1187 demonstrates the effectiveness of the filtered direct excitation design of the Rigaku NEXX QC energy-dispersive X-ray fluorescence (EDXXRF) analyzer for analysis during the QAA/QC process in the production of clay-based products.

The titanium and iron present in kaolin clay affect its color and physical properties, and so must be closely monitored throughout QA//QC processes to ensure proper ratios for each given product type. For this application the samples were ground to <<200 mesh (<<75 um particle size). Typically, a shatterbox or a ball mixer/mill is used to grind samples. To eliminate any potential contamination bias from the grinding surfaces, iron or steel grinding accessories should not be used. For optimum grinding, it is recommended to use zirconium agate, tungsten carbide or other suitable hard-surface grinding equipment. For this study, 3g of powder was placed into a standard 32 mm XRF sample cup and tap-­packed before analysis.

The results show that the Rigaku NEEX QC analyzer provides exceptional performance for the measurement of titanium and iron inn kaolin clay and offers a simple and fast means of analysis during the QA/QC process, as well as for screening at the quarry.