Identification of alkyl carbazoles and alkyl benzocarbazoles in Brazilian petroleum derivatives

J Chromatogr A. 2006 Feb 10;1105(1-2):186-90. doi: 10.1016/j.chroma.2005.11.001. Epub 2005 Nov 28.

Abstract

Carbozoles are important compounds in crude oils, as they may be used as geochemical tracers, being the major type of nitrogen compounds in petroleum. At the same time, they are regarded as undesirable due to the problems they may cause in the refining process, such as catalyst poisoning, corrosion, gum or color formation in final products. As separation and identification of carbazoles are challenging goals, this work presents a chromatographic method, made of a pre-fractionation on neutral alumina followed by the separation and identification of two classes of carbazoles using FeCl(3)/Chromossorb W and gas chromatograph with mass spectrometer (GC/MS) (SIM-single ion monitoring mode) analysis. For the first time, a series of alkyl carbazoles and alkyl benzocarbazoles were identified in heavy gas oil (HGO) and atmospheric residue of distillation (ARD) obtained from Brazilian petroleum.

MeSH terms

  • Aluminum Oxide
  • Carbazoles / analysis*
  • Carbazoles / isolation & purification
  • Chemical Fractionation / methods
  • Chlorides
  • Ferric Compounds
  • Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry / methods
  • Petroleum / analysis*

Substances

  • Carbazoles
  • Chlorides
  • Ferric Compounds
  • Petroleum
  • Aluminum Oxide
  • ferric chloride