Portable X-ray fluorescence (pXRF) analysis can be considered one of the main recent advances for chemical characterization of earth materials. The water content of the samples can affect the pXRF performance. As a novelty, we aimed to establish relationships (linear regression) between the effect of water content on pXRF results and atomic number (Z) of the elements. Three certified reference materials (CRM) were investigated: OREAS 100a, OREAS 101a, and OREAS 101b. These materials were saturated (0.68 g g-1) with distilled water and left to air-dry naturally. During the drying, the elemental concentrations (C) were determined at different water contents using a pXRF spectrometer. For each water content, the ratio Cwet/Cdry was determined and plotted against the water content. The attenuation coefficient (σ) was also determined. High σ values mean more influence of water content upon measurement element concentration. The obtained recovery rates allowed a qualitative determination. The concentration for the most elements reduced linearly with increasing water content. A predictable behavior of the water content on pXRF results as function of atomic number was not found. Elements identified by Lα spectral line with highest Z were more impacted by water content than elements identified by Kα line with lowest Z. Ti, Cr and Fe was not significantly influenced by water content, and Sr was the most impacted. Our findings contribute to decision-making before characterization earth materials via pXRF, obliging the use of dry samples for determination of impacted elements or by using moisture-corrected data.

Soil chemical characterisation has been accurately performed worldwide using portable X-ray fluorescence (pXRF), contributing to fast, low-cost and environmentally-friendly soil analyses. However, many factors can influence the pXRF performance. Thus, this work was carried out to assess the oxides (SiO2, Al2O3, Fe2O3, TiO2 and P2O5) in tropical soils via pXRF, evaluating the effects of soil packing prior to analysis and the soil matrix. The packing of soil samples was performed using X-ray thin-film and common, low-cost plastic bags. Different soil matrices were obtained by grouping of samples according to the Munsell colour system. The obtained results were compared with a conventional method employed for the determination of soil oxides. In addition, the pXRF measurements made on either sieved soil samples or directly on the soil profile were compared. The P2O5 content was below the detection limit of pXRF (0.05 g kg−1). The Fe2O3 and TiO2 contents of several tropical soils were accurately determined via pXRF using air-dried and sieved samples. This result was not observed for SiO2 and Al2O3. For Fe2O3, a good correlation (R2 = 0.91) was obtained between pXRF measurements made on sieved soil samples and directly on the soil profile. The packing of soil samples using plastic bags did not negatively influence the pXRF performance.

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Potentially toxic elements (PTE’s) are of great concern in steel mill wastes. Therefore, in other to use them as potential fertilizers in soil, risk assessments are needed. Three steel mill wastes were tested as possible amendments for soils at six different doses (0; 0,5; 1; 2; 4; 8; 16 t ha-1): Phosphate mud (PM), Metallurgical press residue (MPR) and Filter press mud (FPM) during rice cultivation in a pot experiment in a Haplic Gleisol. Analysis on rice tissues, including roots, shoots, husk and grains were conducted and contents of Cu, Cd, Ni, Zn, Mn and Pb were assessed. Translocation and bioaccumulation factors were calculated for each element. In general, PTE’s are more accumulated in roots and greater contents of Zn and Mn were found, while the lowest ones were found for Pb, probably due to its lack of functional roles during plants development. Higher translocation was observed for Mn, which is associated to the redox conditions of rice cultivation and the high mobility of this element under this condition. Application of steel mill wastes can increase PTE’s bioavailability and translocation factors, especially PM, but all of the wastes reveal a high hazard index.