The liquid-liquid diffusive extraction of hydrocarbons from a North Sea oil using a microfluidic format

Extraction of a GC-amenable hydrocarbon fraction from oil by liquid-liquid diffusion across a laminar interface can be performed in a microfluidic format. Analysis of figures of merit, determined using standard analytical techniques, show this method to be an effective new tool for rapidly processing small quantities of oil and petroleum for GC analysis. Methods based upon similar microsystems devices could find widespread use in a variety of fields, including those associated with organic geochemistry and oil exploration and production, where the manipulation of petroleum constituents (greater than C14) is necessary for analytical purposes.     

Stable Isotope Geochemistry of the Organic Elements within Shales and Crude Oils: A Comprehensive Review

Over time, stable isotopes have proven to be a useful tool in petroleum geochemistry. However, there is currently insufficient literature on stable isotope geochemistry of the organic elements within shales and crude oils in many petroleum systems around the world. As a result, this paper critically reviews the early and recent trends in stable isotope geochemistry of organic elements in shales and crude oils. The bulk and compound-specific stable isotopes of H, C, and S, as well as their uses as source facies, depositional environments, thermal maturity, geological age, and oil–oil and oil–source rock correlation studies, are all taken into account. The applications of the stable isotopes of H and C in gas exploration are also discussed. Then, the experimental and instrumental approaches to the stable isotopes of H, C, and S, are discussed.     

Detection of zirconium in organic and aqueous phases using an inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometer and the same aqueous standards

Solvent extraction requires measurement of both aqueous and organic phases, and common techniques of such measurements are tedious and time consuming. This paper outlines an inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometric technique in which both aqueous and organic phases (both contained in a carrier phase, ethanol) can be measured using the same calibration curve. The method has proved to be successful as long as the organic and aqueous content in the carrier phase is kept below 10%. The developed technique is a more convenient tool for solvent extraction chemists who have often used radioactive tracers within their experimental techniques. In addition, this technique may be used in environmental studies involving the analysis of organic fractions, such as metal fingerprinting of petroleum fluids. In such analyses, the ability to use more available and traceable aqueous standards will lead to significantly improved confidence in the analytical results.     

石油组分高分辨质谱分析进展与展望

石油是一种复杂体系,研究石油分子组成是分析化学领域的经典难题.近年来,傅里叶变换离子回旋共振质谱技术(Fourier transform ion cyclotron resonance mass spectrometry,FT-ICR MS)的发展,为从分子水平认识石油组成提供了机会,引起了石油化学界的高度关注,并被期待能在石油、石化领域的相关研究中实现重大突破.本文从质谱分辨率和电离技术方面介绍了石油样品的分析需求,总结了近几年基于FT-ICR MS技术对石油分子组成的研究进展,分析了其在应用中存在的关键技术问题及下一步研究方向,并对FT-ICR MS的发展前景给予展望.     

Determination of Selected Metals in Niger Delta Oils by Graphite Furnace Atomic Absorption Spectrometry

Abstract

Graphite furnace atomic absorption spectroscopic (GFAAS) analysis of oil samples from the onshore and offshore fields in the Niger Delta was carried out in order to determine their trace element contents. The concentrations of the elements (Cr, Co, Cu, Fe, Mn, Ni, Pb, and V) determined ranged from 0.151–941.199 ppb with an average of 30.190 ppb (% RSD<5) for the oil samples analyzed. The pattern of occurrence of each element was in agreement with studies conducted employing neutron activation analysis and flame atomic absorption spectroscopy. From the cluster analysis of the data, two groups of oils were evident. The groups are correlated with each other, indicating common or similar genetic origin. Trace metal parameters indicate that the oils were generated from organic matter of strong terrestrial input. GFAAS proved to be a good method for the analysis of elemental composition and classification of Niger Delta oils.     

Ionic liquids as a tool for determination of metals and organic compounds in food analysis

Ionic liquids (ILs) are non-molecular solvents, which are mainly characterized as possessing low melting points, low-to-negligible vapor pressures, and high thermal stability. Their unique solvation properties, coupled to the fact that they can be structurally tailored for specific applications, have increased study of ILs in many areas of fundamental and applied chemistry. Thus, ILs have successfully been utilized as novel solvents in different extraction and microextraction schemes in recent years, but mainly with environmental samples.Food samples are quite complicated matrices from an analytical point of view. They contain a large range of chemical substances, and sometimes they also have a high fat content. Even with the most advanced analytical techniques, food sampling and food-sample preparation prior to the analytical determination are labor-intensive and time-consuming, and normally require relatively large amounts of organic solvents.In this review, we summarize the most recent analytical developments aimed at employing ILs as a tool in food analysis. We discuss practical applications to determine metals and organic compounds in food samples of quite different natures, with special emphasis to the extraction step at which the IL is introduced, and the advantages of the IL-based methods developed over conventional extraction methods.     

Applications of stripping voltammetric techniques in food analysis

Stripping voltammetric techniques are powerful analytical tools that are becoming widely used in various chemical analysis fields. Hence, the objective of this survey is to give a general overview on the scope of the applicability of stripping voltammetric methods in food industries. The applications discussed include recent studies on the utilization of these electroanalytical methods in determination of food contaminants (toxic metals, pesticide, fertilizers and veterinary drugs residuals), trace essential elements, food additive dyes and other organic compounds of biological significance. Tables that give method summaries referenced to the original work are provided.     

Recent theoretical and practical applications of micellar liquid chromatography (MLC) in pharmaceutical and biomedical analysis

Micellar liquid chromatography (MLC) is an analytical technique belonging to the wide range of reversed-phase liquid chromatographic (RP-LC) separation techniques. MLC with the use of surfactant solutions above its critical micellar concentration (CMC) and the addition of organic modifiers is currently an important analytical tool with still growing theoretical considerations and practical applications in pharmaceutical analysis of drugs and other biologically active compounds. The use of MLC as an alternative, relatively much faster in comparison to conventional chromatographic separation techniques has several advantages, especially as being suitable for screening pharmaceutical analysis. The analytical data received from MLC analysis are considered a useful source of information to predict passive drug absorption, drug transport and other pharmacokinetics and physicochemical measures of pharmaceutical substances.     

Analysis of organic micropollutants in the lipid fraction of foodstuffs.

An overview is given of current techniques for the analysis of organic micropollutants that accumulate in the fatty fraction of foodstuffs, such as pesticides, polychlorinated biphenyls, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, polychlorinated dibenzodioxins and polychlorinated dibenzofurans. Isolation and clean-up are considered to be of great importance in the field of residue analysis. In general, problems are related to the low levels of the individual compounds at which they usually occur and the complexity of extraction and clean-up procedures for isolating and separating analytes from matrix components and other contaminants. Therefore, special attention is focused on sample pretreatment and on coupled chromatographic techniques, showing developments towards multi-residue methods, miniaturization and automation of analytical procedures. Coupling of chromatographic techniques with spectroscopic techniques is also considered as an important tool for identification and confirmation purposes.     

Pesticides Identification and Sustainable Viticulture Practices to Reduce Their Use: An Overview

The use of pesticides is a necessary practice in the modern era. Therefore, it is impossible to ignore the pesticide market, which has developed into one of the most lucrative in the world. Nowadays, humans are subjected to many potential risks, and significant amounts of toxic compounds enter their bodies through food, drink, and the air itself. Identification and quantification of these hazardous compounds is crucial for the sustainable development of an increasing world population which poses high climatic and political constraints on agricultural production systems. The maximum residue limits for pesticides have been regulated by the Codex Alimentarius Commission and European Union to protect human health. In this review, we have summarized and explained the analytical methods for pesticide extraction and determination. Also, sustainable viticulture practices like organic vineyards, tillage, biopesticides, nanobiopesticides, and precision viticulture are briefly discussed. These new techniques allow wine growers to be more profitable and efficient, while contributing to the reduction of pests and increasing the quality of wines.     

X‐ray Crystallography in Open‐Framework Materials

Open‐framework materials, such as metal–organic frameworks (MOFs) and coordination polymers have been widely investigated for their gas adsorption and separation properties. However, recent studies have demonstrated that their highly crystalline structures can be used to periodically organize guest molecules and non‐structural metal compounds either within their pore voids or by anchoring to their framework architecture. Accordingly, the open framework can act as a matrix for isolating and elucidating the structures of these moieties by X‐ray diffraction. This concept has broad scope for development as an analytical tool where obtaining single crystals of a target molecule presents a significant challenge and it additionally offers potential for obtaining insights into chemically reactive species that can be stabilized within the pore network. However, the technique does have limitations and as yet a general experimental method has not been realized. Herein we focus on recent examples in which framework materials have been utilized as a scaffold for ordering molecules for analysis by diffraction methods and canvass areas for future exploration.     

Massenspektrometrie herausgegeben von Hermann Kienitz,verfaßt von Fritz Aulinger,Gerhard Franke,Karleugen Habfast,Hermann Kienitz und Gerhard Spiteller. Verlag Chemie,Weinheim/Bergstraße, 1968. 883 Seiten mit 342 Abbildungen und 52 Tabellen im Text und einem Tabellenteil. Ganzleinen DM 195

Structure elucidation of organic compounds is only one of the applications of mass spectrometry to chemistry. Important subjects are also mass spectrometric quantitative analysis of mixtures of inorganic and of organic compounds, determination of isotopes and related problems. In ‘Massenspektrometrie’, edited by H. Kienitz, all these applications are discussed together with an excellent introduction to the function of mass spectrometers and the techniques of measurement. This book contains a lot of information and stimulation for mass spectroscopists and chemists, and is especially recomended for use in analytical laboratories.     

Extended characterization of a vacuum gas oil by offline LC‐high‐temperature comprehensive two‐dimensional gas chromatography

In a context of environmental preservation, purification and conversion of heavy petroleum cuts into high‐quality fuel becomes essential. The interest for the characterization of those very complex matrices becomes a trendy analytical challenge, when it comes to get molecular information for the optimization of industrial processes. Among new analytical techniques, high‐temperature 2‐D GC has recently proved its applicability to heavy petroleum matrices, but lacks in selectivity to separate all chemical groups. To gain resolution, heart cutting is demonstrated for LC separation of saturated, aromatic and polar compounds prior to high‐temperature 2‐D GC. Therefore, an extended global resolution was obtained, especially by a better distinction of saturated compounds. This includes iso‐paraffins and biomarker polynaphthenic structures, which are impossible to quantify with MS methods. This new way to analyze heavy petroleum fractions gives innovative opportunities for the construction of global weight distributions by carbon atoms number and by chemical families. This can right now be employed for quantitative analysis of heavy petroleum fractions and for studying conversion processes.     

Characterization,determination and elimination technologies for sulfur from petroleum: Toward cleaner fuel and a safe environment

Sulfur-containing compounds are the most abundant compounds in crude oil. Sulfur in liquid fuel oil leads to the emission of sulfur oxides and sulfate particulate matter which not only endangers health and community property but also reduces the life of the catalysts and engines due to corrosion. Various methods, with a high level of precision and sensitivity, have been developed to analyze sulfur-containing compounds. On the other side, the removal and characterization of sulfur-containing compounds in crude oils and petroleum products is of great importance, not only for the downstream refining process, control/optimization, and environmental compliance, but also for upstream geochemical studies for exploration and production. This review summarizes the analytical strategies and some of the most important and promising technologies for the removal of sulfur from oil.     

Sample preparation for determination of water taste and odor compounds: A review

The presence and the concentration of taste and odor compounds are important parameters of drinking water quality. They have extremely low odor thresholds that requires their determination at levels below the capabilities of the analytical instrumentation, unless an enrichment process is added to the procedure. Several variations of solid- and liquid-phase (micro)extraction techniques have been developed to improve the classical approaches, in terms of lower sample volumes, less solid or liquid extraction phases, automatization, and enhanced analytical figures of merit. The present review covers the articles on development and application of such sample preparation techniques, prior to chromatographic analysis, for determination of taste and odor compounds in aqueous media, published over the range of 2005−2020. The most frequently observed compounds have been classified and discussed in three groups of (i) geosmin and 2-methylisoborneol, (ii) methoxypyrazine derivatives, and (iii) haloanisoles, and miscellaneous compounds have been collected in a single category.     

Evaluation of Coriolis Micro Air Sampling to Detect Volatile and Semi-Volatile Organic Compounds

There are several analytical procedures available for the monitoring of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) in the air, which differ mainly on sampling procedures. The Coriolis micro air sampler is a tool normally designed for biological air sampling. In this paper, the Coriolis micro bio collector is used to evaluate its ability to sample organic contaminants sampling and detecting them when combined GC-MS. We also compare the use of the Coriolis micro with a standardized sampling method, which is the use of a lung box with a Nalophan^® bag. The results show that the Coriolis micro sampling method is suitable for the sampling of organic contaminants. Indeed, the Coriolis micro allows to sample and detect mainly semi-volatile molecules, while the lung box/Nalophan^® bags allow to sample more volatile molecules (highly volatile and volatile). These results were confirmed in the controlled air lab with a slight difference with the field. The simultaneous use of the both techniques allow to sample and detect a larger number of molecules with specific physicochemical properties to each sampling technique. In conclusion, the Coriolis micro can sample and detect volatile organic compounds present in air. We have shown that the development of alternative sampling methods and the use of non-target analysis are essential for a more comprehensive risk assessment. Moreover, the use of the Coriolis micro allows the detection of emergent molecules around the Thau lagoon.     

Determination of total petroleum hydrocarbons in soil from different locations using infrared spectrophotometry and gas chromatography

Total petroleum hydrocarbons (TPH) are important environmental contaminants which are toxic to human and environmental receptors. Several analytical methods have been used to quantify TPH levels in contaminated soils, specifically through infrared spectrometry (IR) and gas chromatography (GC). Despite being two of the most used techniques, some issues remain that have been inadequately studied: a) applicability of both techniques to soils contaminated with two distinct types of fuel (petrol and diesel), b) influence of the soil natural organic matter content on the results achieved by various analytical methods, and c) evaluation of the performance of both techniques in analyses of soils with different levels of contamination (presumably non-contaminated and potentially contaminated). The main objectives of this work were to answer these questions and to provide more complete information about the potentials and limitations of GC and IR techniques. The results led us to the following conclusions: a) IR analysis of soils contaminated with petrol is not suitable due to volatilisation losses, b) there is a significant influence of organic matter in IR analysis, and c) both techniques demonstrated the capacity to accurately quantify TPH in soils, irrespective of their contamination levels.     

State-of-the-art of gas chromatography-based methods for analysis of anthropogenic volatile organic compounds in estuarine waters,illustrated with the river Scheldt as an example

This review focuses on a number of key procedural steps in the analysis of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) in estuarine waters. The most critical step, from an analytical point of view, is sample preparation. So far, only purge-and-trap and, to some extent, membrane inlet mass spectrometry have successfully been applied in estuarine monitoring of VOCs. The advantages and disadvantages of both techniques are discussed and novel developments are reviewed. Other key elements in VOC analysis and assessment include quality assurance (QA), quality control (QC) and statistical data analysis. This paper gives a brief overview of QA/QC measures of interest in the estuarine monitoring exercise, and provides guidelines for adequate statistical treatment of environmental data. Finally, field measurements of VOCs in estuarine waters are reviewed. Concentrations are reported, and distribution patterns, sources and time-trends are discussed. In addition to literature data, results of a 3-year monitoring survey (May 1998–November 2000) in the Scheldt estuary are presented.