XRFS Determination of Trace Elements in Bitumen

XRFS determination of 17 trace elements in bitumen with preparation of disc sample by direct pressing of sample powder was proposed in this paper. The bitumen was powdered to size less than 180 μm, dried at 60 ℃ and pressed in a mould under a pressure of 20 MPa to form a disc sample with its thickness of 4 mm. Working curve was prepared with a set of standard samples (B-401 to B-408). A 3 in 1 regression equation functioning as working curve, matrix correction and spectral overlapping correction was established and used as the basis for quantification. Detection limits of the method was found to be in the range of 0.2-18 μg·g-1. Values of RSD′s (n=11) were found to be less than 9.5% by analysis of a bitumen sample. The proposed method was used in analyzing a standard sample (B-403), giving results in consistency with the standard values.