Determination of Major and Minor Components in Phosphate Ores by Inductively Coupled Plasma-Atomic Emission Spectrometry

Phosphate ore sample was fused with mixed fusing agent of lithium carbonateboric acid and the melt bead was then dissolved with acid. Major and minor components including P2O5, CaO, MgO, SiO2, Fe2O3, Al2O3, K2O, Na2O, TiO2, MnO, SrO in the sample solution were directly determined by inductively coupled plasma-atomic emission spectrometry (ICP-AES). Some parameters affecting the determinations such as the incident wavelength, atomization pressure, incident power and sample uptake rate were studied and optimized. Detection limits of the method were in the range of 0.0001to 0.019 μg/g and the determination precision was from 0.78%～2.6%RSD (n=11)for the elements. The method provides the advantages of high accuracy and precision, wide linear dynamic range, less interference and suitable for the analysis of major and minor components in phosphate ores.