Multielement analysis of a municipal landfill leachate with total reflection X-ray fluorescence (TXRF). A comparison with ICP-OES analytical results

A complete analysis of a landfill leachate coming from a landfill site of several years old was performed with a total reflection X-ray fluorescence (TXRF) spectrometer in comparison with an inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectroscopy (ICP-OES). The results of the two analytical techniques are compared and advantages and drawbacks emphasized. The TXRF analytical technique appears a reliable, economic, rapid and simpler technique for the everyday monitoring of the composition of the landfill leachate before the purification treatment and after the treatment to check the quality of the resulting purified water. The TXRF and the ICP-OES analytical techniques were also employed in the analysis of three groundwater samples.