The determination of lead, nickel and vanadium in Saudi Arabian crude oil by sequential injection analysis/inductively-coupled plasma mass spectrometry

The coupling of sequential injection with inductively-coupled plasma mass spectrometry as an analytical tool for trace element detection is described. The technique is applied for determining the concentrations of lead, nickel and vanadium at part per billion levels in sample solutions of Saudi arabian crude oils. A microemulsion crude oil sampling procedure and a standard addition method using oil-soluble organo metallic salts of trace elements were used. A reference oil sample (NBS 1634b) was analyzed to obtain the accuracy and precision of the method. Results showed percentage recovery values of 98.2%, 95.7% and 101.4% and standard deviations of 2.9%, 1.5% and 2.0% for lead, nickel and vanadium respectively. The method is sensitive, requires only small sample volumes and is quick.