Application study of the analysis of total fluorine contained in paper products using XRF

Abstract

PFAS have been used in various products due to their excellent functionality, but in recent years, concerns about environmental pollution have increased. The purpose of this study is to investigate the application of total fluorine analysis by wavelength dispersive X-ray fluorescence spectrometry (WDX) to the screening analysis of PFAS. The study started with paper products, which are readily available and easy to sample.26 commercially available food contact paper products that had been analyzed by CIC were cut into appropriate sizes and analyzed by WDX. Although the WDX analysis value was about three times higher than the CIC value, a strong correlation (correlation coefficient of 0.914) was obtained between the WDX and CIC analysis values. It was confirmed that WDX can be used for screening analysis to determine whether fluorine compounds are used in paper products. Further validation with other materials will be an object to be considered in the future.