Less than 90 Minutes for Metal Analysis in Petroleum Products
St Albans (PRWEB UK) 22 October 2015 -- Anton Paar has developed a method using the Multiwave PRO microwave digestion system that can prepare petroleum products for metals analysis in only 90 minutes. The Multiwave PRO performs microwave-assisted closed-vessel digestion under high temperature and high pressure conditions according to the newly released standard ASTM D7876 (Standard Practice for Sample Decomposition Using Microwave Heating (With or Without Prior Ashing) for Atomic Spectroscopic Elemental Determination in Petroleum Products and Lubricants).
Petroleum samples are decomposed with concentrated acids in closed pressure vessels, resulting in a clear aqueous solution with low residual carbon content.
Laboratories testing petroleum products for metal content have been using ASTM D5708-B, ASTM D5863-A or IP 501 to prepare samples for metal analysis. These methods are time-consuming, inefficient and expensive. In these methods, the sample is ashed in a muffle furnace at 525 °C for several hours. The ash is subsequently transferred and digested in acids. Each sample can take as much as 10 hours of preparation, resulting in a typical turnaround time of 2 business days for results. Replacing ASTM D5708-B, ASTM D5863-A or IP 501 with the newly released ASTM D7876 can reduce the preparation time to 90 minutes – getting results to customers faster.
“Microwaves are the perfect heating source for ICP sample preparation as they heat the liquid bulk directly,” explains Linda Kuenstl , Product Manager of microwave sample preparation at Anton Paar GmbH. “Direct heating means faster heating and shorter preparation times. Laboratories using ASTM D7876 have an advantage over their competition.”
New advances in ICP-OES and ICP-MS technology have improved detection limits to the point where the large sample masses required for FAAS analysis are no longer necessary. Samples are now small enough for use in certain microwave digestion vessels. Petroleum products are highly reactive; creating byproducts during digestion that produce a lot of pressure and heat.
To ensure safe operation, it is essential to have the temperature and pressure under full control. For ASTM D7876, Multiwave PRO utilizes the Rotor 8NXF100 which provides wireless pressure and temperature control of every vessel. In addition to making the digestions safe, the wireless pressure and temperature sensors make the procedure highly reproducible.
Multiwave PRO with Rotor 8NXF100 allows for quick, reproducible, and accurate preparations for metal analysis according to ASTM D7876 in less than 90 minutes.
Angela Meringolo, Anton Paar Ltd, http://www.anton-paar.co.uk, +44 1992514730, [email protected]
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