Determination of nitrogen in coal macerals using electron microprobe technique - experimental procedure

This paper discusses nitrogen determination with the Cameca SX50 electron m icroprobe using PC0 as an analyzing crystal. A set of conditions using diff ering accelerating voltages, beam currents, beam sizes, and counting times were tested to determine parameters that would give the most reliable nitro gen determination. The results suggest that, for the instrumentation used, 10 kV, current 20 nA, and a counting time of 20 s provides the most reliabl e nitrogen determination, with a much lower detection limit than the typica l concentration of this element in coal. The study demonstrates that the el ectron microprobe technique can be used to determine the nitrogen content o f coal macerals successfully and accurately. (C) 2001 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.