Assessing raw materials as potential adsorbents to remove acidic compounds from Brazilian crude oils by ESI (-) FT-ICR MS

Abstract

The presence of acidic compounds as naphthenic acids in crude oil causes several problems for the petroleum industry, including corrosion in both upstream and downstream production processes. Based on this scenario, the main objective of this work was to investigate the removal of the acidic compound from two Brazilian heavy oils by adsorption processes using six potential adsorbents: powdered shale, activated carbon, bentonite, silica gel, powdered sandstone and powdered wood. These raw materials were previously characterized by conventional and surface analysis techniques, which show that they offer a good surface area and thermal stability. To evaluate the removal efficiency at the molecular level, the crude oil samples and the filtered oils were analyzed by negative electrospray ionization Fourier transform ion cyclotron resonance mass spectrometry [ESI (-) FTICR MS]. The O 2 class, which is related to the relatively high acidity of the samples, was the most abundant in both crude oil samples, moreover, this class was more retained by adsorbents. Silica gel, activated carbon and bentonite were the best adsorbents of acidic compounds from the tested oils, in agreement with their markedly higher surface area and porous volume. Additionally, a chromatographic analysis was performed and showed no changes in the oil profile.

Comparing the Intermediate Precision in Petroleomics by Ultrahigh-Resolution Mass Spectrometry

“…The ion cyclotron resonance (ICR) and Orbitrap mass analyzers combined to Fourier transform (FT) are notable analytical mass spectrometry (MS) techniques, which have high-resolution and accurate mass detection for several petroleum applications. − These mass spectrometers allow us to discern thousands of similar structures from intrinsic mass defects, i.e., different mass-to-charge ratios ( m / z ). − The characterization at the molecular level (C c H h N n O o S s ) by high-resolution MS is achieved by the assessment of different compound classes, rings, double bond equivalent (DBE) distribution, and DBE versus carbon number (CN) plots from the m / z signals. ,− In general, a single mass spectrum analysis can identify more than 20 000 elementary formulas. − …”

Analytics Driving Kinetics: Advanced Mass Spectrometric Characterization of Petroleum Products

“…Vanadium compounds; 296 Non-polar aromatic compounds; 297 thiols; [298][299][300] Sulfides; 301,302 N-, S-, and O-containing species; 129,198,205,207,212,214,221,224,236,244, Porphyrins; [348][349][350][351][352] Molecular structure of Asphaltenes; 185,216,353,354 naphthenic acids; 284,285,[355][356][357][358][359][360] petroleum sulfonates; [361][362][363][364] acidic compounds; 213,215,216,323,362,[365][366][367][368][369][370][371]…”