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Elemental analysis in the refinery industry: total determination and speciation of contaminants using a triple quadrupole ICP/MS Agilent 8800

Carlos Sánchez Rodríguez 1 ; Charles-Philippe LIENEMANN 2 ; Fabien CHAINET 2 ; Frederique BESSUEILLE-BARBIER 3 ; Linda AYOUNI-DEROUICHE 3 ; sylvain Carbonneaux 2 ; Jose Luis Todoli 1 ; Alain Desprez 4
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The nature of the contaminants in petroleum products depends on the crude oil origin, refining process and the agents added during refining steps [1]. Most of them (As, Cl, Si, Hg, Ni, V, etc.,) are known to severely poison catalysts [2]. These elements are present at trace levels typically ranging from several µg/kg to several mg/kg, depending on the boiling point (ranges) of the petroleum cut and on the element. To avoid catalysts poisoning and to cope with the specifications of the different commercial fuels, these elements must be removed using trapping systems. Development and optimization of these systems require the determination of the total elemental concentration as well as their speciation.

Total content determination in fuels and biofuels is usually carried out using atomic absorption spectrometry (AAS) and inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectrometry (ICP-OES) or mass spectrometry (ICP/MS) [3]. To perform elemental speciation, separation techniques hyphenated to either mass spectrometry or ICP/MS have been proposed [4]. Recently, triple quadrupole ICP/MS instrument is considered to be a versatile tool for the study of contaminants at trace levels in very complex matrices such as petroleum products. However, this methodology suffers from matrix effects as well as sensitivity dependence as a function of the analyte chemical form.

In this presentation, both total determination and speciation of various contaminants in petroleum products are reported using the new Agilent triple quadrupole ICP/MS 8800 system. Results concerning the use of a total sample consumption system to limit the chemical form influence and matrix effects, in combination with the spectrometer capabilities to overcome spectral interferences, are particularly highlighted.

References
[1] P. Dufresne, Applied Catalysis A: General 322 (2007) 67.
[2] B. Didillon, J. Cosyns, C. Cameron, D. Uzio, P. Sarrazin, J.P. Boitiaux 111 (1997) 447.
[3] R. Sanchez, C. Sanchez, C.-P. Lienemann, J.-L. Todoli, Journal of Analytical Atomic Spectrometry 30 (2015) 64.
[4] F. Chainet, C.-P. Lienemann, J. Ponthus, C. Pecheyran, J. Castro, E. Tessier, O.F.X. Donard, Spectroc. Acta Pt. B-Atom. Spectr. 97 (2014) 49.