NEW: Less than 90 Minutes of Turnaround Time for Metal Analysis in Petroleum Products

Anton Paar (Austria) has developed a method by which petroleum products are prepared for metal analysis in 90 minutes only – using the Multiwave PRO microwave digestion system. 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 their metal content have been using ASTM D5708-B, ASTM D5863-A or IP 501 to prepare their samples. These methods are time-consuming, inefficient and expensive. New advances in ICP-OES and ICP-MS technology have now improved detection limits to the point where the large sample masses required for FAAS analysis are no longer necessary. Samples are now small enough to 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, full control of the temperature and pressure is essential. Multiwave PRO with Rotor 8NXF100 provides wireless pressure and temperature control of every vessel. In addition to making digestions safe, these wireless pressure and temperature sensors make the procedure highly reproducible.

Multiwave PRO with Rotor 8NXF100 allows for quick, reproducible and accurate preparation for metal analysis according to ASTM D7876 in less than 90 minutes.