A Comprehensive Investigation alongwith the Statistical Evaluation for the Characterization of Ilmenite Mineral by X‐ray Fluorescence Spectrometry and Optical Emission Spectrometry

Abstract A comparative investigation on characterization of ilmenite manuscript was performed by energy dispersive X‐ray fluorescence spectrometry (EDXRF) and carrier distillation direct current arc atomic emission spectrometry (D.C. Arc AES) along with the statistical evaluation of the data obtained. 5 % AgCl was used as carrier in AES to avoid spectral interference arising out of the emission rich matrix elements. An exercise was performed to evaluate the total uncertainty associated with the methodology for characterization of base reference materials. The developed methodologies were validated using synthetic samples. ∼30 % Fe and ∼35 % Ti as major elements alongwith Ca, Mg, Cr, Si, Al, Ni, Mn, V, Zr, Eu, Mo, Na and Cd as minor and trace level were reported in real ilmenite samples. Student t test was performed at 95 % confidence limit with 10 degrees of freedom revealed that the null hypothesis persisted, i. e. the data obtained by both the methods are reliable and within the limit of statistical fluctuation. The F test on variance revealed that all the variance estimated for all the analytes were less than the critical value (Fc=2.98) and hence the variance is also within the statistical fluctuation