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The aim of this research was to analyze the concentrations of some chemical elements (Al, Ca, Cu, Fe, K, Mn, P and Zn) in moss samples, using two different analytical techniques (ICP-AES and XRF), to compare their compatibility, correlation and suitability1,2. The mean and median values for some chemical elements (Ca, K and Mn) were higher in the ICP-AES method, compared to XRF, while for the chemical elements (Fe, P and Cu) these values are very close from both analytical techniques. The comparison between ICP-AES and XRF measurements demonstrates generally strong agreement for most elements. Very strong positive correlations were observed for Al (r=0.885), Fe (r=0.899), Mn (r=0.837), P (0.842) and Zn (r=0.977), indicating that both analytical techniques capture similar spatial and concentration trends among moss samples3. The moderate correlations between analytical techniques were for Ca (r=0.701) and K (r=0.680). The appearance of copper with very weak correlation (r=0.012), suggests that the concentrations were close to the limits of analytical detection and are therefore more affected by analytical uncertainty. In general, both analytical methods show good correlation with each other for most chemical elements, as XRF offers comparable trends with the advantage of rapid and non-destructive analysis of samples, while ICP-AES remains preferable when maximum analytical accuracy is required.
Keywords: ICP-AES, XRF, moss, Kosovo, Pearson correlation.
References:
1. Fedeli, R.; Di Lella, L. A.; Loppi, S. Suitability of XRF for routine analysis of multi-elemental composition: A multi-standard verification. Methods and Protocols 2024, 7(4), 53.
2. Al Maliki, A.; Al-lami, A. K.; Hussain, H. M.; Al-Ansari, N. Comparison between inductively coupled plasma and X-ray fluorescence performance for Pb analysis in environmental soil samples. Environmental Earth Sciences, 2017, 76(12), 433.
3. Dreshaj-Lecaj, E.; Haskaj, A.; Paçarizi, M. Pollution indicators of heavy metals in the sediments of the Lepenc river in Kosovo. Environment Protection Engineering, 2024, 50(3), 77-87.