Trace metals and mineral composition of harmattan dust haze in Ilorin City, Kwara State, Nigeria

Abstract

Trace metals and mineralogical composition of harmattan dust haze was carried out on samples collected at Ilorin (80 32'N, 40 34'E) a guinea  Savanna African City located at the central state of Nigeria. These dusts were gathered at different locations using clean Petri-dishes and plastic bowls of 10cm in diameter. These were analyzed using X-ray Florescence (XRF) and Particle Induce X-ray Emission (PIXE) machine. The average concentration of the metals was (13351.75±45) mg/kg and minerals  (7.22%).The mean soil content of the total size of particles for the harmattan season for the station was calculated to be1.79765 μg/m. In conclusion, it was observed that harmattan dusts that blow across Nigeria predominantly comprise quartz and high elements.

Keywords: Harmattan, Ilorin, X-ray Fluorescence and Particle Induce X-ray Emission