Mass Spectrometry in Analysis of Petroleum

Abstract

The present work summarizes current trends in application of mass spectrometry (MS) to petroleum analysis. Various MS ionization techniques are currently used for monitoring composition of petroleum. For group analyses of middle and vacuum petroleum fractions, electron impact (70 eV EI+) ionization is used in spectrometers connected to special batch inlet systems. For middle petroleum fractions, combinations of MS with gas chromatography or comprehensive multidimensional gas chromatography are intensively studied. In addition to quadrupole and sector mass spectrometers, TOF MS detectors are also used as the soft ionization techniques like field (FI) or chemical ionization (CI). For quantitative analysis, FID or selective detectors for sulfur and nitrogen compounds are preferred due to their universal response. For qualitative analyses, MS is mostly used. Liquid chromatography is combined with electrospray ionization or atmospheric pressure CI especially for nitrogen and oxygen compounds. For higher-boiling fractions, Fourier transform ion cyclotron resonance spectrometers are used due to their ultrahigh resolution which makes it possible to distinguish polar compounds and hydrocarbons.