Application of in situ current normalized Particle Induced Gamma-ray Emission (PIGE) method for determination of total fluorine concentration in sediment samples from different geological provinces and its relevance to fluoride contamination

Screening for Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances in Water with Particle Induced Gamma-Ray Emission Spectroscopy

“…The beam current was measured before and after each sample measurement, and a 770 keV gamma-ray from argon-40 in the atmosphere was used to normalize the beam on target for each measurement. 24 Two gamma-rays that are characteristic of the decay of the 19 F nucleus at 110 and 197 keV were backgroundsubtracted and integrated, and the total number of counts in these two peaks per μC of beam delivered is proportional to the total fluorine concentration.…”

“…Removal of Organic Matter Interference. While no spectral interference occurs in the PIGE method for 19 F, there can be compounding effects in the solid-phase extraction step of this process caused by high organic carbon content in water. While most drinking water sources (ground or surface water) are not high in other solutes expected to interfere with PFAS removal, it was discovered that organic brine from a water treatment system which was rich in organic content such as humic and fulvic acids competes for binding sites with PFAS on the ACF and caused a reduction in fluorine signal measured by this method.…”

“…18 Alternatively, to address the known limitations of the targeted analysis techniques, particle induced gamma-ray emission (PIGE) spectrometry could be used as a rapid screening tool to perform quantitative measurement of total fluorine. PIGE is a rapid and nondestructive spectroscopic technique that has been demonstrated to effectively screen for total fluorine from PFAS on a wide variety of solid materials, such as soils, 19 dust, 20 textiles, 21 cosmetics, 22 papers, and fast food packaging. 9 PIGE uses a focused, accelerated proton beam to bombard the surfaces of solid samples, causing any fluorine nuclei present to emit unique γ-rays which can be used for isotopic identification and quantification, in this case for total fluorine-19 measurement.…”

The standardization and application of an external (in air) particle induced gamma emission (PIGE) method for the rapid and non-destructive quantification of light elements at major to trace concentrations in coal, bottom ash and coke samples

“…, with energies less than 5 MeV. 15 It involves the online assay of prompt gamma-rays from isotopes of various elements through inelastic proton beam scattering (p,p′γ) or other nuclear reactions, like (p,γ), (p,nγ), and (p,αγ). 16 Conventional PIGE has been utilized for the characterization of coal, soil, sediment, and forensic samples.…”

“…16 Conventional PIGE has been utilized for the characterization of coal, soil, sediment, and forensic samples. 15,17–19 To further obtain a simple and rapid analytical method, as required, an external (in air) PIGE method has been utilized in our laboratory. 5 It was found to reduce the turnaround time of analysis without any vacuum requirements, where the sample was exposed to the extracted proton beam in air.…”