Monitoring and evaluation of duct emission and stationary sources of ceramic industries by SR-TXRF

Autores: Moreira, S.|Fonseca, R. J.|Vives, A. E. S. de
Fuente: INAC 2009: International nuclear atlantic conference. Innovations in nuclear technology for a sustainable future. Rio de Janeiro: [s.n.], 2009

The aim of this study was to monitor and evaluate the emission of metals from ducts and stationary sources in ceramic industries in the region of the ceramic centre of Santa Gertrudes in the state of Sao Paulo. There has been a growth of this industrial sector in recent years. This reflected upon the environment in this region which is responsible for 60% of ceramic tile floor production. From 2005 to 2006, samples of gases emitted by several ceramic companies in that region were collected. Metal concentration was determined through X-ray Fluorescence by Total Reflection with Synchrotron Radiation (SR-TXRF) technique. The analyses were carried out in the National Laboratory of Synchrotron Light (NLSL) and used a polychromatic beam of light to stimulate the samples and a hyper pure Germanic detector for the characteristic X-ray detection. The following elements were detected: Al, S, Cl, K, Ca, Fe, Cr, Mn, Ni, Cu, Zn and Pb. High concentrations of elements such as Chromium, Nickel and Lead were observed in the samples analyzed which presented values of concentrations higher than the ones permitted by legislation. (author)