Analysis of wide diffuse halo formation in the x-ray diffraction spectrum during the reduction of Fe 2 O 3 by waste-activated sludge (WAS)

A simulation of the diffuse experimental x-ray halo obtained when waste-activated sludge (WAS) was used as the Fe 2 O 3 reducing agent made it possible to explain the large width of the experimental halo and the change in its shape as a result of the change in the amorphous phase content. The halo consists of different sets of amorphous phase convolutions. The synthesized product was a composite consisting of amorphous iron with inclusions of amorphous oxides of aluminum and silicon, amorphous carbon, and amorphous Si, Al, and C alloys on the surface of the Fe particles. The shift in the halo makes it possible to qualitatively estimate the contributions of oxide and carbon components or alloys to the halo of amorphous iron.