Multielement content of coal by neutron activation analysis techniques

Neutron activation analysis methods incorporating thermal and prompt gamma-rays have been developed for the determination of Al, Ag, As, Au, B, Ba, Br, Ca, Cd, Ce, Cl, Co, Cr, Cs, Cu, Fe, Hg, I, K, La, Mg, Mn, Mo, Na, Ni, Rb, S, Sb, Sc, Se, Sn, Sr, Ti, V, W and Zn in NBS-SRM 1635 (Subbituminous) coal standard, and coals from the Barnsley-Wakefield (South Yorkshire, England) area. Precision and accuracy for multielement analysis ranged from 2,5–12.4% with good argeement with teported values for NBS-SRM 1635. Comparison is reported of the elemental values for coal from Canada, Nigeria and Bulgaria. Boron values determined by PGAA at Silwood Park, England and Listitut Laue-Langevin, Grenoble, France showed relatively good agreement.