HYDROCARBON ANALYSIS OF PETROLEUM PRODUCTS:
GENERAL
The determination of hydrocarbon types - saturates, olefins, and aromatics - in petroleum fractions is important in characterizing the quality of petroleum fractions as gasoline blending components and as feeds to catalytic reforming processes, as products from thermal and catalytic cracking as blending components for motor and aviation fuels. This information is required in specifications such as Specification ASTM D1655. There are a number of test methods for these analysis, all based on gas chromatography or gas chromatography-mass spectrometry. Each method is described in brief below. Also, see Test Method ASTM D6293 for the determination of O-PONA hydrocarbons in fuels by gas chromatography, and Test Method ASTM D6296 for the determination of olefins in the engine fuels by gas chromatography. Additionally, much more in-depth discussion of this subject can be found in the ASTM Manual on Hydrocarbon Analysis.
