ASTM 2622 compliance for petroleum products on the Rigaku Supermini200 spectrometer

ASTM 2622 - Standard Test Method for Sulfur in Petroleum Products by Wavelength Dispersive X-ray Fluorescence (WDXRF) Spectrometry - lays out the expected performance from a WDXRF spectrometer for the analysis of sulfur in petroleum products from 3 mg/kg to 4.6% sulfur. The analysis of sulfur is necessary to help refineries to meet legislated limits set by governmental agencies such as the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and State Air Resource Boards. Sulfur is linked to the formation of nitrous oxides in the atmosphere, which are the main cause of smog and also participate in the formation of ozone. Both of these conditions are the source of adverse health effects on the public at large and considered public health hazards.

The use of an internationally recognised standard such as ASTM or ISO allows the industry as a whole to carry out these measurements in exactly the same way making sure that products sulfur content is measured uniformly by all parties, the producer, the referee, and the consumer groups who monitor these parameters.

The Rigaku Supermini200 high-power benchtop sequential WDXRF spectrometer is ideal for characterising the sulfur levels in all of the petroleum feedstocks, intermediates and final products.

Instrument capabilities

The Supermini200 spectrometer offers enhanced performance and flexibility for XRF analysis of petrochemical products and materials. It is able to handle lose powders, pressed pellets, plastic pellets, solids, liquids and thin films, and operates in air, helium atmosphere or under vacuum. It is a compact, benchtop wavelength dispersive XRF instrument, with the superior spectral resolution, sophisticated data handling and stability associated with this technology, but in a smaller physical size.

Multiple element measurements on the full spectrum of fuels, lubricants, specialty chemicals, and catalysts are possible in a compact, rugged XRF analysis platform.  The Supermini200 spectrometer can measure elements from Al - U with low single digit ppm LLDs in petroleum matrices, F - Mg with LLDs in the 10's of ppm range and S in the sub-ppm range. Capable of precisions on <0.1% RSD under the right measuring conditions.

The system is capable of qualitative, semi-quantitative and quantitative analysis for use in almost any required capacity in a process control environment. Quick scans for forensic data, approximate results for general characterisation using Rigaku SQX software and high precision, high accuracy data using the quantitative analysis software and certified reference materials. Factory provided Application Packages - Petro-Pak™ designed to ensure regulatory compliance are also available.

Performance

The accompanying figures present a quick overview of the performance of Supermini200 instrument based on ASTM 2622 accuracy and repeatability specifications on a wide variety of petroleum products.

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