PHOSPHORUS DETERMINATION IN PETROLEUM PRODUCTS: GENERAL
Depending upon the product, phosphorus can serve as a beneficial adjunct or as a deleterious agent. Phosphorus in gasoline will damage catalytic converters used in automotive emission control systems, and its level therefore is kept low. In additives and lubricating oils, phosphorus is added as an organophosphorus compound to improve engine performance.
There are several test methods for the determination of phosphorus. In addition to the three test methods described here, reference should also be made to multielement analysis methods such as ICPAES (Test Methods ASTM D4951 and ASTM D5185) and XRF (Test Methods ASTM D4927 and ASTM D6443) described earlier in this guide.
