Elemental composition of fly ash: a comparative study using nuclear and related analytical techniques / Skład pierwiastkowy popiołów lotnych: studium przypadku z wykorzystaniem metod nuklearnych i analitycznych

Epithermal neutron activation analysis along with ICP-OES, LA ICP-MS, and XRF were used to determine the elemental composition of coal fly ash from the Malta coal power station in the Mpumalanga province of South Africa. A total of 54 major, trace and rare earth elements were obtained by the four analytical techniques. The results were compared and the discrepancies discussed to show the merits and drawbacks of each of the techniques. It was shown that the elemental content of this particular coal fly ash are of the same order as the NIST standard reference material Coal Fly Ash 1633b.