Detection and Quantification of Precious Elements in Astrophyllite Mineral by Optical Spectroscopy

Abstract

With many advantages over well-established methods, laser induced breakdown spectroscopy (LIBS) has emerged as a useful analytical technique for the compositional analysis of multi-elemental geological materials. In this study, LIBS was employed for qualitative and quantitative analysis of a rare mineral, astrophyllite, bearing precious elements of industrial and technological interest. The experiment was carried out using second harmonic generation of Nd:YAG laser of pulse width 5 ns and repetition rate of 10 Hz. Microplasma was produced by focusing laser beam on an astrophyllite target, and optical emissions from the generated plasma were recorded in the spectral range of 200–720 nm with the help of a LIBS2000+ detection system. On analyzing the optical spectra, existence of 15 elements in astrophyllite target were revealed. These elements include: Ti, W, Ag, Al, Ba, Ca, Cr, Cu, Fe, Li, Mg, Na, Ni, Si and H. For quantification, calibration-free method was used. Only ten elements, namely Ti, W, Fe, Cr, Cu, Ca, Mg, Ni, Si and Al, were quantified with relative weight concentrations of 55.39%, 18.79%, 18.30%, 4.05%, 2.66, 0.43%, 0.18%, 0.12%, 0.06% and 0.02%, respectively. To benchmark these results, XRF analysis was performed, which confirmed the presence of all the elements detected in the optical spectrum of the sample, except for Na, Li, and H. The concentrations of these ten elements as measured by XRF were in reasonable agreement, especially for the major elements. The presence of a significant amount of Ti and W in an astrophyllite sample, found in Pakistan, highlights the economic value of this mineral. This study may be of further interest in commissioning LIBS technology for exploration of minerals in the region.

Quantitative Analysis of Mixed Minerals with Finite Phase Using Thermal Infrared Hyperspectral Technology

“…Subsequently, the spectral data of the potassium salt samples were collected using the Hyper-Cam hyperspectral imager in an open environment. (3) The TIH data for potassium salt was processed to obtain its emissivity data. Based on this emissivity data, prediction models were established for the mineral phase composition of potassium salt using the CARS and PLSR methods.…”

“…Although this method can meet production requirements to some extent, the low detection speed and incapable of detecting mineral phases cannot be neglected. Other mineral quantitative detection methods [ 2 , 3 ], such as Atomic Absorption Spectrometry (ASS) [ 4 ] and X-ray Fluorescence spectrometry (XRF) [ 5 ], can also quantitatively analyze and calculate the mineral element or ion content. However, these methods are still time-consuming and currently in the laboratory application stage.…”

Catching up on calibration-free LIBS

“…Ahmad et al 125 compared CF-LIBS and XRF for the compositional analysis of astrophyllite, demonstrating its feasibility for the compositional analysis of multielemental geological materials of industrial and technological interest.…”