Claim Listing
If this is your listing you must be registered and logged in to claim. If you are logged in you will see an icon similar to this to the left that you will click to claim the listing. Once a listing has been claimed it can be edited. You must be logged in to edit a listing.
Environmental Technology Listing
Title of Listing:
QuanX
Category:
Characterization Technologies
Subcategory:
*Waste, Soil, All Listings
Media:
Soil, Sludge, Solid, Sediment
Contaminants:
Heavy Metals, Nonmetallic Toxic Elements, Radioactive Elements
Web Site:
Email:
Technology Description:

Energy dispersive X-ray fluorescence (EDXRF) spectrometry is a flexible elemental analysis technique used for quantitative composition determinations of solid, liquid, thin film and powder samples. The QuanX, formerly "Spectrace 6000", is a transportable EDXRF spectrometer that is capable of analyzing elements with atomic number 11 (sodium) and higher in the periodic table in concentration ranges of a few ppm to 100% by weight. The QuanX is a benchtop that operates on AC power and has a 20 position sample tray for automated batch runs of samples in XRF sample cups.

          The QuanX is a benchtop instrument (16"x28.3"x22) that is interfaced with a personal computer for operation of the software. The spectrometer houses an X-ray tube (typically rhodium anode) for sample excitation and uses a high resolution lithium drifted silicon (Si(Li)) detector for determining the energy of each X-ray photon. During a measurement the X-ray tube exposes the sample to x-radiation. The inner-orbital electrons (K and L shell) of the elements in the sample are excited and upon relaxation, emit X-ray photons of element-specific energies. These fluoresced photons are captured by the Si(Li) detector and counted on a 2048 channel Multi-Channel Analyzer (MCA). The intensity of an elements fluorescence is proportional to its concentration. The software integrates the element peaks and calculates concentrations in ppm or percent.

          The instrument comes standard with a liquid nitrogen cooled detector. However, an electrically cooled detector (ECD) is offered as an option.

          With benchtop EDXRF, hazardous materials analysis can be done on-site to allow the screening and remediation operations to be adjusted while they are in progress. Such flexibility can result in significant savings compared to the costs of predetermined sampling for laboratory analysis.

          Questions about the QuanX can be directed to Spectrace Instruments, Inc. at (408) 744-1414.
Performance Status/
Limitations:

Limitations:

          The technical limitations of the QuanX are that it requires AC power at all times during operation and the instrument can not be achieve sub-ppm detection limits in a soil matrix. Although, rarely does a remediation require clean-up below 1 ppm.

          Due to the heterogeneous nature of a soil sample, sample grinding is usually necessary to obtain the best analytical results at a sampling site using EDXRF. This requires collecting a sample and then drying and grinding the sample in a shatterbox prior to analysis. There are no matrix specific limitations associated with the Spectrace 6000.
Topics
Technologies, Characterization
Additional Topics/Tags/Keywords
X-ray Fluorescence, Monitor, Heavy Metals


Organization:
Spectrace Instruments
Address:
1275 Hammerwood Avenue
Phone:
DescriptionNumber
City:
Sunnyvale
1.
Primary (408) 744-1414
State/Province/Territory:
CA
2.
Zip/Postal Code:
94089-2231
3.
Country:
United States
4.
Fax:(408) 744-1313
Branch Locations: