Qualitative and quantitative phase analyses of Pingguo bauxite mineral using X-ray powder diffraction and the Rietveld method

Abstract

X-ray powder diffraction technique and the Rietveld refinement method have been used successfully for the qualitative and quantitative analyses of Pingguo bauxite from Guangxi, China. Qualitative phase analysis shows that the Pingguo bauxite contains diaspore (AlOOH), hematite (Fe 2 O 3 ), goethite (FeOOH), anatase (TiO 2 ), and kaolinite (Al 2 (Si 2 O 5 )(OH) 4 ). Quantitative Rietveld refinement shows that the weight concentrations of diaspore, goethite, hematite, anatase, and kaolinite for the Pingguo bauxite are 71.9(4)%, 7.0(8)%, 11.3(7)%, 6.5(6)%, and 3.3(9)%, respectively.