As. Abdel-haleem et al., Heavy metals and rare earth elements in phosphate fertilizer components using instrumental neutron activation analysis, APPL RAD IS, 55(4), 2001, pp. 569-573
The technique of instrumental neutron activation analysis was applied as a
sensitive nondestructive analytical tool for the determination of heavy met
als and rare earth elements in phosphate fertilizer ingredients. The conten
ts of heavy metals Fe, Zn, Co, Cr and Sc as well as rare earth elements La,
Ce, Hf, Eu, Yb and Sm were determined in four samples representing the pho
sphate fertilizer components (e.g. rock phosphate, limestone and sulfur). T
hese samples were collected from the Abu-Zabal phosphate factory in El-Qalu
bia governarate, Egypt.
The aim of this study was to determine the elemental pattern in phosphate i
ngredients as well as in the produced phosphate fertilizer. Fair agreement
was found between the results obtained for the standard reference material
Soil-7 and the certified values reported by the International Atomic Energy
Agency. The results for the input raw materials (rock phosphate, limestone
and sulfur) and the output product as final fertilizer are presented and d
iscussed. (C) 2001 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.