ASTM D5762 Test Method for Nitrogen in Petroleum and Petroleum Products
ASTM D5762 Standard Test Method for Nitrogen in Petroleum and Petroleum Products by Boat-Inlet Chemiluminescence
3. Summary of Test Method
3.1 A hydrocarbon sample is placed on a sample boat at room temperature. The sample and boat are advanced into a high-temperature combustion tube where the nitrogen is oxidized to nitric oxide (NO) in an oxygen atmosphere. The NO contacts ozone and is converted to excited nitrogen dioxide (NO2). The light emitted as the excited NO2 decays is detected by a photomultiplier tube, and the resulting signal is a measure of the nitrogen contained in the sample.
4. Significance and Use
4.1 Many nitrogen compounds can contaminate refinery catalysts. They tend to be the most difficult class of compounds to hydrogenate, so the nitrogen content remaining in the product of a hydrotreator is a measure of the effectiveness of the hydrotreating process. In lubricating oils the concentration of nitrogen is a measure of the presence of nitrogen containing additives. This test method is intended for use in plant control and in research.
