The cost for handheld XRF testers should be in the range of 20 000 to 50 000 USD. They usually are low powered so they measure near surface. The surface should be clean for best accuracy.
No, they are rather delicate. They contain a miniature x-ray tube.
They are as accurate as your surface allows. A good clean smooth surface with a fairly long analysis time and you can get 0.1% easily.
The ability to sort alloys is huge in the scrap business. A foundry will pay a lot more for a lot of scrap that is all one sp[specific grade. When you are doing this with thousands of tons it adds up fast.
Remember, these are semi-quantitative tools that are great for identifying alloys as shown on your link for scrap analysis; they should never be used to determine whether or not the material met compositional limits
I have recently used an Olympus Delta Classic XRF analyzer to sort heat treat furnace alloy. It worked very well with only about a .25" dia clean area needed.
Cost is around $25K but there are advanced models with more elements than I need that raises the cost some. Leasing is also offered.
Back in 1970, the steel mill, for which I worked, purchased an isotope type XRF unit for over $200,000 (before Texas Instruments). It paid for itself in less than 6 mos, nearly eliminating costly steel mixes in the plate mill.
