Quality control of PIXE and PIGE nuclear analytical techniques in geological and environmental applications

Inter-technique comparison of PIXE and XRF for lake sediments

“…Zirconium is a reliable index upon which to base quantitative evolution of pedogenic processes in sediments. 13 Cr, Ni and Zn provide insight into the exploitation of ophiolitic rocks and deforestation in the Amanos Mountains close to the study site. The major elements, Si, Ti, Al, Fe, Mn, Mg, Ca, Na and K, are indicative of a terrigenous input in the lake sediments that results from the erosion of the surrounding watershed.…”

“…Specic experimental parameters such as probing beam energy and diameter must be adapted and a prior knowledge of the matrix rough composition and heterogeneity of analyzed sediment samples must be required. 13 The present study focuses on heterogeneous lacustrine sediments with various grain sizes and variable organic matter content. The overall aim of this work was to compare PIXE and XRF capabilities, to investigate the possible benets of implementing PIXE in macro-beam 1D scanning mode and to determine the best combination of techniques and sample preparation protocols (raw samples or samples with a linking powder) to be applied for sediments.…”

Environmental aspects of trace elements in coal combustion

“…Maximum particle size was about 150 urn. Al and K in coal yield marble-like pictures, for Ca and Fe, distinct single grains were observed [13].…”

Determination of fluorine concentrations in soil samples using proton induced gamma-ray emission

“…PIGE is sensitive technique for low Z elements (Z \ 17) especially for lithium and fluorine [10,11]. It finds applications in many fields including pharmaceuticals [11], glass [12], teeth [13,14], aerosols [15] and geological and environmental reference materials [16,17]. This makes it complementary to techniques like particle induced X-ray emission (PIXE), X-ray fluorescence (XRF) and neutron activation analysis (NAA).…”