Analysis of ULSD and Gasoline

Application Note EDXRF1272

EDXRF1272-header

Scope

EDXRF1272-badgeThe analysis of sulfur in ULSD (ultralow sulfur diesel) is demonstrated, as well as the measurement of ultralow sulfur in gasoline.

Background

Regulations around the world have limited the amount of sulfur in various fuels oils with particular attention to diesel fuel. For many years, road diesel has been limited to a maximum sulfur concentration between 10 – 15 ppm, depending on the global region. Now, these limits are expanded to all diesel fuel, including use in large engines and off-road diesel engines.

NEX QC+ high-resolution EDXRF analyzerModel: NEX QC+


Diesel

Calibration

Empirical calibration was built using a suite of six certified diesel calibration standards.

Element: S
Units: ppm
   
Sample ID Standard value Calculated value
STD 1 5.0 4.7
STD 2 10.0 10.1
STD 3 15.0 15.5
STD 5 25.0 24.7
STD 6 50.0 50.0

EDXRF1272 diesel correlation plot S

Precision

Instrument repeatability (precision) is determined by ten repeat analyses of a sample in static position.

Element: S
Units: ppm
Sample Standard value Average value Std. dev % Relative
STD 2 10.0 10.2 0.48 4.8
STD 6 50.0 50.9 0.50 1.0

Gasoline

Calibration

Empirical calibration was built using a suite of seven certified isooctane calibration standards to simulate gasoline.

Element: S
Units: ppm
   
Sample ID Standard value Calculated value
STD 1 5.0 5.1
STD 2 10.0 10.4
STD 3 15.0 14.5
STD 4 20.0 19.8
STD 5 25.0 25.1
STD 6 50.0 50.1

EDXRF1272 gasoline correlation plot s

Precision

Instrument repeatability (precision) is determined by ten repeat analyses of a sample in static position.

Element: S
Units: ppm
Sample Standard value Average value Std. dev % Relative
STD 2 10.0 9.71 0.20 2.0%
STD 5 50.0 50.2 0.47 0.9%

International standard test methods

The Rigaku NEX QC+ complies with ISO 13032 for the measurement of ultra- low sulfur between 8 – 50 mg/kg in diesel fuels and gasoline. NEX QC+ also
complies with the following ASTM and international standard test methods for the measurement of sulfur up to 5% in various petroleum oils and fuels.

ASTM D4294 ISO 20847 ISO 8754 IP 496 IP 336 JIS K 2541-4
16 ppm - 5% 30 - 500 mg/kg 100 mg/kg - 5% 100 mg/kg - 5% 100 mg/kg - 5% 0.01 - 5%

Conclusion

The results shown here indicate the Rigaku NEX QC+ EDXRF analyzer gives excellent performance for the measurement of ULSD and ultralow sulfur gasoline in accordance with ISO 13032. The versatility of the NEX QC+ also makes it an ideal tool for the measurement of many other elements and oil matrices throughout the petroleum industry.

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