Paul's blog

Today, we're going to discuss how to analyze quartz sand, which is next used for glass production, using a portable XRF analyzer. We have a couple of samples from our clients, and we'll be using the Vanta C series mounted in a working station with a silver anode PC software.

Russian Classification of Sand Grades

The request from the client was to determine the type of sand according to the Russian classification, which is based on the content of three major elements: silicon dioxide, ferrum oxide, and aluminum oxide.

Sand GradeSiO2Fe2O3Al2O3PB 15070-80%0.15-0.7%0.6-1.5%BC 030B80-90%0.02-0.6%<0.6%

As you can see, the iron oxide content is responsible for the light transparency of the glass, and it's essential to determine its exact content.

Testing with Vanta Portable XRF Analyzer

We use the Galcam 3B mode with two beams, and for this kind of application, it's better to pick Gelcam, which is exactly what we've done. The testing times are 10 seconds and 30 seconds in the second beam, and we can even decrease it to 20 seconds.

Let's open the chamber, put the sample inside, and push the start button on the screen. In the first beam, we analyze heavy metals, and in the second beam, we can determine the full composition of the sand.

Results and Comparison

For the first sample, we get 0.13% of iron oxide and 0.13% of aluminum dioxide, which corresponds to the PB 150 grade. For the second sample, we get 0.02% of iron oxide and 0.6% of aluminum dioxide, which corresponds to the BC 030B grade.

We can easily determine the raw material role called sand by grade, and it's not a problem to calculate the elements by the factor according to molar mass and recalculate it to any different compound.

Using a handheld XRF analyzer, we can easily determine the type of sand and measure the elements of interest, including iron oxide, without any tuning.