Often phase identification is not enough and it is desirable to quantitatively
determine the amounts of the different components within a sample. Examples of
applications where this may be useful might include monitoring of product quality,
modeling of mineralogy with process conditions, or determination of crystalline
components that have significant effects on the property of the materials such
as cordierite in kiln furniture. X-ray diffraction is inherently less quantitative than
other analytical techniques such as X-ray fluorescence, but with careful use of
standards, calibration, or processes such as standard addition, reasonably good
results can be obtained