Applications of supercritical fluid chromatography-mass spectrometry in the analysis of fossil fuels

Conference · Fri May 01 04:00:00 EDT 1987

OSTI ID:6313501

Chess, E K; Kalinoski, H T; Wright, B W; Udseth, H R; Smith, R D

Because the physical properties of a supercritical fluid (e.g., low viscosity, high diffusivity, and reasonable solubility, etc.) impart characteristics to the supercritical mobile phase intermediate to those of a liquid and a gas, SFC has allowed the separation of some components of complex mixtures that were not separable by gas chromatography or high performance liquid chromatography. The application of SFC-MS to the analysis of fossil fuels has been demonstrated primarily in our laboratories at Pacific Northwest Laboratory. One primary emphasis of our research programs involving fossil fuels analysis has been to develop supercritical fluids and chromatographic columns that can be used for the characterization of higher-molecular-weight (above 250 amu) and polar components of fossil fuels. Our research indicates that supercritical carbon dioxide is a reasonably poor solvent for PAH and polar-substituted PAH, and needs (at a minimum) to be modified with the addition of a few percent of a polar solvent, such as isopropanol, in order to solvate polar fossil fuels. Another primary emphasis has been the development of the SFC-MS interface and flow restrictor technology. Successful interfaces have been developed for coupling capillary columns to both quadrupole and magnetic sector mass spectrometers; a unique high flow rate interface for coupling packed microbore columns to a quadrupole instrument has also been developed. Our state of interface development is now such that SFC-MS can be used to analyze any high-molecular-weight compound that can be analyzed by GC-MS. The extension to components lacking the necessary volatility for analysis by GC-MS is now being realized with the application of polar-modified fluids. A variety of fossil fuels, including diesel fuels, diesel fuel sediments, coal-derived liquids, and porphyrins, have been analyzed by SFC-MS and related techniques. 13 refs.

• Research Organization: Pacific Northwest Lab., Richland, WA (USA)
• DOE Contract Number: AC06-76RL01830
• OSTI ID: 6313501
• Report Number(s): PNL-SA-14650; CONF-8705114-5; ON: DE87013325
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

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37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CHEMISTRY
400105 -- Separation Procedures
AMMONIA
CARBON COMPOUNDS
CARBON DIOXIDE
CARBON OXIDES
CARBOXYLIC ACIDS
CHALCOGENIDES
CHROMATOGRAPHY
COAL LIQUIDS
DIESEL FUELS
ENERGY SOURCES
FLUIDS
FOSSIL FUELS
FUELS
GAS CHROMATOGRAPHY
HETEROCYCLIC ACIDS
HETEROCYCLIC COMPOUNDS
HYDRIDES
HYDROGEN COMPOUNDS
INTERFACES
LIQUID COLUMN CHROMATOGRAPHY
LIQUIDS
MASS SPECTROMETERS
MASS SPECTROSCOPY
MEASURING INSTRUMENTS
NITROGEN COMPOUNDS
NITROGEN HYDRIDES
ORGANIC ACIDS
ORGANIC COMPOUNDS
ORGANIC NITROGEN COMPOUNDS
OXIDES
OXYGEN COMPOUNDS
PETROLEUM PRODUCTS
PORPHYRINS
SEPARATION PROCESSES
SPECTROMETERS
SPECTROSCOPY
SUPERCRITICAL FLUID CHROMATOGRAPHY
VISCOSITY