Elemental analysis is a valuable tool that can be used in petroleum geology during the drilling process to analyze drill cuttings and the return mud stream to gather a comprehensive petro-physical characterization of geological strata.

Energy Dispersive X-Ray Fluorescence (EDXRF) spectrometry provides a convenient and rapid method of on site analysis and the SPECTRO Analytical Instruments catalog includes a complete line of EDXRF instruments with characteristics optimized for this field of work.

In an on-site mobile laboratory, the SPECTRO XEPOS and the SPECTROCUBE are the ideal tools for such applications. The portable spectrometer SPECTROSCOUT is an ED-XRF that is able to deliver fast results right at the well head. The handheld XRF SPECTRO xSORT is used for drill core analysis and can give indication on the composition without destroying the core for analysis. The portable, well site ED-XRF technology offered by SPECTRO is unmatched in the petroleum geology world and widely used for mud logging and logging-while-drilling applications worldwide.

ICP-OES spectrometers like the SPECTROGREEN and SPECTRO ARCOS spectrometers have been used for a long time in petrogeological applications. With a large number of samples, requirements for short analysis times, low detection limits, especially for the light elements, ICP-OES provides the looked-for performance. Both techniques are easy to automate, enable detection limits in sub-ppm and ppb ranges and analyze a sample in less than 2 minutes.