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EVALUATION OF AN ESCA (ELECTRON SPECTROSCOPY FOR CHEMICAL ANALYSIS)/LEACHATE ANALYTICAL SCHEME TO CHARACTERIZE PROCESS STREAM WASTES
Citation:
Myatt, B. EVALUATION OF AN ESCA (ELECTRON SPECTROSCOPY FOR CHEMICAL ANALYSIS)/LEACHATE ANALYTICAL SCHEME TO CHARACTERIZE PROCESS STREAM WASTES. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Washington, D.C., EPA/600/2-84/156.
Description:
The report gives results of an evaluation of the ability of an ESCA/leachate analytical scheme to characterize solid waste from combustion processes and hazardous waste incinerators. Samples were analyzed for surface elemental composition by electron spectroscopy for chemical analysis (ESCA) before and after aqueous leaching. Selected elements were subjected to oxidation state studies by ESCA, and leachates were analyzed for anions by ion chromatography and for trace metals by inductively coupled plasma spectrometry. The results of ESCA before and after leaching compared favorably with leachate data. Although aqueous leaching did not significantly affect the metal species present in the samples used in this study, it did extract considerable amounts of water-soluble ions: sodium, calcium, chloride, and sulfate. Essentially all samples showed an increase in oxygen after leaching that was attributed to hydration by the aqueous extraction medium. ESCA can successfully speciate chromium, lead, and zinc when these elements are sufficiently abundant in the sample. The technique is limited, however, by its ability to detect only those elements present at > 0.1 to 1.0% atomic. Most process wastes contain very low concentrations of metals, thereby minimizing the suitability of ESCA for process waste characterization.