Solid recovered fuels — Determination of elemental composition by X-ray fluorescence

This document specifies the procedure for a determination of major and minor element concentrations in solid recovered fuel material by energy-dispersive X-ray fluorescence (EDXRF) spectrometry or wavelength-dispersive X-ray fluorescence (WDXRF) spectrometry using a calibration with solid recovered fuel reference materials or solid recovered fuel samples with known content. A semiquantitative determination can be carried out using matrix independent standards.

This document is applicable to the following elements: Na, Mg, Al, Si, P, S, Cl, K, Ca, Ti, V, Cr, Mn, Fe, Co, Ni, Cu, Zn, As, Br, Mo, Cd, Sb, Sn, Tl and Pb. Concentration levels between approximately 0,000 1 % and 100 % can be determined depending on the element, the calibration materials used and the instrument used.

NOTE X-ray fluorescence spectrometry can be used as a fast method for a qualitative overview of elements and impurities and after suitable calibration it is very useful for determining major elements or even minor elements (except Hg) in order to quickly identify increased concentrations of minor elements in solid recovered fuels (SRF), for example during SRF-production.