ASTM method D8110-17 “Standard Test Method for Elemental Analysis of Distillate Products by Inductively Coupled Plasma Mass Spectrometry (ICP-MS)” describes a procedure for the determination of a few trace elements in light and middle distillate petroleum products using ICP-MS.
Contaminants in feedstock can harm refinery processes. Those in petroleum products can compromise the quality of fuels, causing premature breakdown of mechanical equipment, poison catalysts, and impact performance of the final products, such as various chemicals, plastics, and synthetic materials. They also may have harmful effects on the environment when discharged.
This work demonstrates the capability of the NexION® 2200 ICP-MS to effectively analyze petroleum distillates according to the ASTM D8110-17 method requirements. The combination of the NexION 2200’s unique features, such as the patented SMARTintro™ sample introduction system for organics, proprietary LumiCoil™ RF load coil, unique 34-MHz RF plasma generator, its second-generation Triple Cone Interface with OmniRing™ technology, and a true-quadrupole Universal Cell with dynamic bandpass tuning capabilities, provides the outstanding performance needed for the petroleum industry when analyzing difficult matrices such as distillates of different viscosities and compositions.