DIRECT MEASUREMENT OF TRACE METALS IN CRUDE OILS AND RELATED UPSTREAM STOCKS USING HIGH DEFINITION X-RAY FLUORESCENCE (HDXRF)

摘要

Trace level metals in crude oil can be toxic to refining processes and metal contents in oil are important parameters in refining engineering. Variation of metal contents in oil can pose significant risk and challenge for refining processes. However, measurement of metal contents in oil and other feed stocks has only been carried out effectively in a lab with a few days lead time. A robust method for measuring trace metals in oils in the field directly will be very beneficial to the petroleum industry. Energy dispersive X-ray fluorescence (EDXRF) is a well established method for elemental analysis. But the detection limits of EDXRF are not sufficient for crude oil application in many cases.