X-Ray fluorescence spectrochemical analysis of submarine sediments (Si, Ti, Al, Fe, Mn, Mg, Ca, K, P, Cr, Sr, Pb, Ni, Zn, Rb, Cu, Y, Mo) using bead samples of low dilution fusion has been performed. Two grams of sample was fused with 82.2% Li
2B
2O
7, 15% Li
2CO
3, 2% NaNO
3, and 0.8% NaI as a flux. The low dilution ratio {(sample+flux)/sample} of 1.2 was achieved by preoxidation of organic materials in the sediments by heating at 600°C for 5 min. Afterwards, the temperature was raised at 10501100°C for 7 min to permit the complete dissolution of sample in the flux. Limits of detection (3σ of background) were Mn 5.3/1.5, Cr 7.0/2.1, Sr 4.2/1.5, Pb 4.7/1.9, Ni 4.6/1.2, Zn 4.1/1.6, Cu 3.2/2.4, respectively. Exact dilution ratios were able to be obtained from ignition loss and ignition gain without any complicated calculation. The effect of coexisting elements was corrected with the theoretical alpha coefficient correction method. Accuracy (σ
d) was improved in comparison with uncorrected data. The analytical results of standard samples of Lake Sediment (JLk-1) and Stream Sediment (JSd-1) for the Geological Survey of Japan were in good agreement with the recommended values. Accuracy with the fundamental parameter correction (FP) method using one sediment standard sample was a little worse in the determination of trace elements, but the FP-method was adequate for rapid analysis. The proposed method was applied to the analysis of various submarine sediments and the analytical values were satisfactory.
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