Determination of Total Sulfur in Light Hydrocarbons, Spark Ignition Engine Fuel and Diesel Engine Fuel by Ultraviolet Fluorescence according to ASTM D5453 Application Note · compEAct S

Introduction

The determination of total sulfur (TS) by means of combustion-coupled UVfluorescence detection is an integral part of the daily routine in the process and quality control of refineries, derived fuels production, and many other labs dealing with control and legal limit checking of fuels and related matrices. No matter if analyzing feeds, process streams, additives, or ultrapure end products, it is a must to have information about the sulfur content in the shortest possible time. This is to avoid undesirable effects such as catalyst poisoning, corrosion of installation parts, low product quality, or exceeding legal limits. Therefore the sulfur content of many different samples of the production process has to be determined in close intervals. This and the fact that fewer and fewer lab technicians are analyzing an ever-increasing number of samples, some of which are challenging, leads to an enormous pressure on performance in terms of time and reliability of the measurement values. Delayed or incorrect results significantly influence performance and profitability of the laboratory. Where time is money, a technique which ensures fast and reliable analyses independent of matrix effects and operator skills is urgently needed.

The compEAct S is an analysis system which has been specifically optimized for the fast and trouble-free determination of sulfur contents in an impressively wide concentration range. It allows the determination of sulfur at concentrations ranging from 5 µg/l up to 10,000 mg/l with one and the same device and the same analysis method.