Rigaku NEX QC VS EDXRF for RoHS rapid screening

Applied Rigaku Technologies has published an application report for the Rigaku NEX QC VS analyser. Application Note #1238 demonstrates performance for the elemental analysis of chromium, mercury, lead, bromine and cadmium in polyethylene (PE) by X-ray fluorescence (XRF) rapid screening. Empirical calibration summary and detection limits are shown and instrument repeatability is presented.

The Restriction on Hazardous Substances initiative (RoHS) limits the allowable amounts of toxic elements in plastics and consumer goods. XRF is an established analysis technique for rapid screening to quickly determine the presence of hazardous materials regulated by the RoHS and RoHS 2 protocols. The analyser - which has been designed to serve the RoHS markets - is a benchtop energy dispersive X-ray fluorescence (EDXRF) spectrometer with variable analysis spot size.

The new method adheres to ASTM test method F2617, ‘Identification and Quantification of Chromium, Bromine, Cadmium, Mercury, and Lead in Polymeric Material Using Energy Dispersive X-ray Spectrometry’. The product is shown to be a reliable and rugged tool for measuring the toxic metals in PE and similar polymers both for screening incoming raw materials as well as during the production process.