Direct mercury determination in naphtha

INTRODUCTION

The mercury concentration in crude oil and petroleum products can vary in a wide range of less than 0.1 ppb to dozens ppm. Direct mercury determination in crude oil and petroleum products at the range above 5 ppb is covered by ASTM D7622-10(2015) "Standard test method for total mercury in crude oil using combustion and direct cold vapor atomic absorption method with Zeeman background correction". Mercury determination in naphtha and light petroleum products (condensate, gasoline and diesel fuel) at a level below 5 ppb is a vital problem for the oil refining and petrochemical industry. The complex organic matrix impedes conventional quantitative analysis for mercury.

MEASURING METHOD

The ASTM D7622-10(2015) method implementation for naphtha analysis using Lumex Instruments mercury analyzers can be carried out for direct analysis of the condensate, naphtha and other products of oil distillation, including gasoline and diesel fuel. For the low mercury content (<5 ppb) preconcentration by the solid-phase extraction on the aluminium oxide should be used.