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Design of an X-Ray Fluorescence Sensor for the Cone Penetrometer

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  06 March 2019

W.T. Elam  and
J. Y. Gilfrich
W.T. Elam
Affiliation:
Naval Research Laboratory Washington, DC 20375-5345
J. Y. Gilfrich
Affiliation:
SFA, Inc. Land over, MD
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Abstract

The cone penetrometer is a well-established method for exploring soil types whereby a smalldiameter pipe with a hardened cone tip is pushed hydraulically into the ground. The system can be equipped with sensors to detect soil contamination. We have investigated the development of an x-ray fluorescence (XRF) sensor to be deployed via this system.

The principal uncertainties in the application of XRF to metals detection in the cone penetrometer are the detection limits and the accuracy of a sensor built in such a confined geometry. A laboratory mock-up was constructed to investigate the performance of such a sensor. An x-ray tube operated at very low power was coupled to an electrically cooled Si(Li) detector. The x-ray path lengths were kept short and an aperture and incident x-ray filter similar to those appropriate for a penetrometer sensor were used.

Spectra were collected on a series of Standard Reference Material soils from the National Institute of Standards and Technology consisting of soils with various levels of metal contamination. The detection limits were determined for the metals present in the soils and were comparable to the solid waste regulatory limits. Quantitative measurements were compared to the NIST certified values both without matrix correction and using the fundamental parameters correction method. Results were generally within 10% of the certified values.

Type
IX. XRS Mathematical Methods, Trace Analysis and Other Applications
Information
Advances in X-Ray Analysis , Volume 38: Forty-third Annual Conference on Applications of X-ray Analysis , 1994 , pp. 699 - 704
Copyright
Copyright © International Centre for Diffraction Data 1994

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References

1. Hazardous metals contained in the “Definition of Hazardous Solid Waste” in 20CFR26T, the EPA target analyte list, and the limits for drinking water in the Safe Drinking Water Act were combined to obtain this list.Google Scholar
2. Watson, W., Walsh, J. P., and Glynn, B., “On-site X-ray Fluorescence Spectrometry Mapping of Metal Contaminants in Soils at Superfund Sites”, American Laboratory 21, (July 1989), pp 60–68.Google Scholar
3. 20CFR261, which specifies the metal contaminants and lower limits which trigger the classification of solid waste as hazardous waste.Google Scholar
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