Chemical Analysis in the Petrochemicals Sector

Listicle

Published: January 10, 2023

Alexander Beadle

A worker looks at a pressure gauge on green pipes.

Credit: iStock

In the petrochemical refinement process, crude oil is transformed into gasses, fuels, solvents and lubricants. During refinement, gasoline, olefins and other petrochemical feedstocks are produced. Catalytic reforming is also used to process low-octane high-boiling point gasolines and naphthas into high-octane aromatics.

To ensure that these aromatics, olefins and petrochemical feedstocks are of a consistent quality and purity, a wide range of analysis methodologies are currently employed by the petrochemicals sector.

Download this listicle to discover the need for petrochemical analysis and how safety and quality standards are maintained using:

Inductively coupled plasma-optical emission spectroscopy and inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry
Gas chromatography paired with mass spectrometry
Fourier transform infrared, X-ray fluorescence and nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy

Meet the Author

Alexander Beadle

Alexander Beadle is a science writer and editor for Technology Networks. Prior to this, he worked as a freelance science writer. Alexander holds an MChem in materials chemistry from the University of St Andrews, where he won a Chemistry Purdie Scholarship and conducted research into zeolite crystal growth mechanisms and the action of single-molecule transistors.