Automotive catalytic converters contain the precious metals Platinum, Rhodium and Palladium. The exact amount of these elements is important for the recycling industry to determine scrap values.
XRF Precious Metal Analysis for Automotive Catalysts
The European Directive on End-of-Life Vehicles (ELV 2000/53/EC) has the real effect that a huge number of different automotive catalytic converters are now recycled. The value of these used catalytic converters depends on the amount of precious metals they contain, making it important for the recycling industry to be able to determine precisely the content of Platinum, Rhodium and Palladium.
In comparison to analysis using traditional chemical methods, measurement of these three elements can be performed more quickly and accurately with the FISCHERSCOPE® X-RAY XDV®-SDD equipment.
To get the best measuring results the catalyst structures are first milled and pressed into pellets. The FISCHERSCOPE® X-RAY XDV®-SDD has a programmable measuring stage, which makes it easy to analyse a large number of samples (pellets) automatically.
The powerful WinFTM® analysis software provides accurate measurements of all three precious metals by their components.
Comparison of Measurement Results: XRF Analysis and Chemical Analysis of Platinum, Rhodium and Palladium
| PLATINUM | PALLADIUM | PLATINUM | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| A1 | ICP-OES | XDV-SDD | ICP-OES | XDV-SDD | ICP-OES | XDV-SDD |
| A2 | 1065 | 1055 | 861 | 871 | 236 | 243 |
| A3 | 1004 | 995 | 785 | 774 | 201 | 186 |
| A4 | 770 | 741 | 1335 | 1315 | 125 | 100 |
| A5 | 856 | 880 | 850 | 856 | 194 | 181 |
| A6 | 1158 | 1142 | 806 | 815 | 180 | 177 |
| A7 | 1071 | 1089 | 729 | 756 | 185 | 186 |
| A8 | 1060 | 1057 | 761 | 747 | 189 | 189 |
| A9 | 3112 | 3200 | 2830 | 2789 | 716 | 700 |
| A10 | 975 | 996 | 887 | 884 | 177 | 172 |
Comparison of XDV-SDD and chemical analysis by ICP-OES for some automotive catalytic converters. Values in mg/kg.
XDV-SDD EDXRF
Your Measuring Instrument for the XRF Analysis of Precious Metal Content in Catalysts
With its silicon drift detector (SDD), the programmable measuring stage and the powerful analysis software, WinFTM®, the FISCHERSCOPE® X-RAY XDV®-SDD is perfectly suited for the efficient, precise and convenient measurement of precious metal content in catalytic converters.