The analysis of petroleum feedstock and finished products is traditionally achieved using gas chromatography (GC) coupled to a number of detectors, the most sensitive and selective being the mass spectrometer. One of the major obstacles to routine analysis for the heavier-cut petrochemical products using GC/MS methods has been the ability to volatilize the high-boiling components. LC/MS methods do not suffer the limitation of volatility or molecular weight; however traditional LC/MS instrumentation suffered contamination to the LC/MS interface as a result of the complicated and dirty sample matrices. Without rigorous sample preparation, the MS would be become contaminated and completely blocked by hydrocarbon build-up on the LC/MS interfaces.

In this communication, we demonstrate a simple but efficient LC/MS platform for the analysis of petroleum finished products. The extended mass range of the LC/MS instrument combined with the ability to inject, separate, and ionize heavy compounds, provided data not available by GC/MS. The patented cone-wash integrated into the electrospray source of the mass spectrometer allowed for the uninterrupted analysis of hydrocarbon samples. The methodology described in this publication can be used to characterize chemicals in wide range of petroleum and petrochemical analyses.

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