Combining XRF analysis and chemometric tools for a preliminary classification of argentine soils

A procedure for the non-destructive elemental analysis of soils using wavelength-dispersive x-ray fluorescence spectrometry (WDXRF) is proposed. The determination of minor and trace elements is considered. It does not require any sophisticated treatment of the sample. The method was validated using certified soil standard reference materials, obtaining satisfactory agreement between the WDXRF results and the certified values. The multielemental information provided by the proposed method was used to model a classification of Argentine soils by chemometric analysis. Copyright (C) 2002 John Wiley Sons, Ltd.