Gasoline Quality Research Articles

Determination of environmental lead pollution in Alawi el-hilla and Bab-almudam bus stations in Baghdad city

Two main grand bus national stations in Baghdad ( Alawi-alhila and Bab-almudam) were chosen as examples to determine lead effect on its drivers. This lead came from ethyl tetra lead or ethyl tri lead which used to improve gasoline quality ,so these two stations could be consider as two of the most polluted places due to gasoline burned by hundreds cars located in these stations .The determination of environmental lead pollution was measured in blood and urines drivers. Drivers were divided in two main groups due to their ages ( 30 persons in each group). The first group for men of 22-30 years old. The second group for men of 40-60 years old. Those men were carefully chosen in order to be non-fumiers or non-alcoholics persons because of the presence of lead in alcohol and cigarettes products .The results prove the presence of high pollution levels of lead in the second group : 35ug/dl in blood and 178 ug/l in urine.

Enhancing propylene production from catalytic cracking of Arabian Light VGO over novel zeolites as FCC catalyst additives

The catalytic cracking of vacuum gas oil over fluid catalytic cracking (FCC) catalyst containing novel additives was investigated to enhance propylene yield. A conventional ZSM-5, mesoporous ZSM-5 (Meso-Z), TNU-9 and SSZ-33 zeolite were tested as additives to a commercial equilibrium USY FCC catalyst (E-Cat). Their catalytic performance was assessed in a fixed-bed micro-activity test unit (MAT) at 520 °C and various catalyst/oil ratios. The cracking activity of all E-Cat/additives did not decrease by using these additives. The highest propylene yield of 12.2 wt.% was achieved over E-Cat/Meso-Z compared with 9.0 wt.% each over E-Cat/ZSM-5 and E-Cat/TNU-9, at similar gasoline yield penalty. The enhanced production of propylene over Meso-Z is attributed to its mesopores that suppressed secondary and hydrogen transfer reactions and offered easier transport and accessibility to active sites. The lower enhancement of propylene over the large-pore SSZ-33 additive was due to its high-hydrogen transfer activity. Gasoline quality was improved by the use of all additives, as octane rating increased by 7–12 numbers for all E-Cat/additives.

Carbon nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopic fingerprinting of commercial gasoline: Pattern-recognition analyses for screening quality control purposes

In this work, the combination of carbon nuclear magnetic resonance ( 13C NMR) fingerprinting with pattern-recognition analyses provides an original and alternative approach to screening commercial gasoline quality. Soft Independent Modelling of Class Analogy (SIMCA) was performed on spectroscopic fingerprints to classify representative commercial gasoline samples, which were selected by Hierarchical Cluster Analyses (HCA) over several months in retails services of gas stations, into previously quality-defined classes. Following optimized 13C NMR-SIMCA algorithm, sensitivity values were obtained in the training set (99.0%), with leave-one-out cross-validation, and external prediction set (92.0%). Governmental laboratories could employ this method as a rapid screening analysis to discourage adulteration practices.

Screening Brazilian commercial gasoline quality by hydrogen nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopic fingerprintings and pattern-recognition multivariate chemometric analysis

The identification of gasoline adulteration by organic solvents is not an easy task, because compounds that constitute the solvents are already in gasoline composition. In this work, the combination of Hydrogen Nuclear Magnetic Resonance ( 1H NMR) spectroscopic fingerprintings with pattern-recognition multivariate Soft Independent Modeling of Class Analogy (SIMCA) chemometric analysis provides an original and alternative approach to screening Brazilian commercial gasoline quality in a Monitoring Program for Quality Control of Automotive Fuels. SIMCA was performed on spectroscopic fingerprints to classify the quality of representative commercial gasoline samples selected by Hierarchical Cluster Analysis (HCA) and collected over a 6-month period from different gas stations in the São Paulo state, Brazil. Following optimized the 1H NMR-SIMCA algorithm, it was possible to correctly classify 92.0% of commercial gasoline samples, which is considered acceptable. The chemometric method is recommended for routine applications in Quality-Control Monitoring Programs, since its measurements are fast and can be easily automated. Also, police laboratories could employ this method for rapid screening analysis to discourage adulteration practices.

Fuel Quality Monitoring System in Indonesia: case study on gasoline quality improvement

This paper advocates periodical monitoring of fuel quality for conformation to quality standards. The Fuel Quality Monitoring System (FQMS) aims to phase out off-specification fuel from the market by a government initiative. The FQMS in developing countries has rather weak management because the insufficient analytical facilities and unskilled human resources result in inadequate monitoring by sampling analyses. Consequently, there is a relatively low guarantee of product quality; further, off-specification fuels may be sold in the market. This paper proposes to strengthen governmental leadership by improving FQMS in terms of both the legal aspect and operational systems.

GC Fingerprints Coupled to Pattern-Recognition Multivariate SIMCA Chemometric Analysis for Brazilian Gasoline Quality Studies

ASTM D6729 gas chromatographic fingerprinting coupled to pattern-recognition multivariate soft independent modeling of class analogy (SIMCA) chemometric analysis provides an original and alternative approach to screening Brazilian commercial gasoline quality. SIMCA, was performed on gas chromatographic fingerprints to classify the quality of representative commercial gasoline samples selected by hierarchical cluster analysis and collected over a 5 month period from gas stations in Sao Paulo State, Brazil. Following an optimized ASTM D6729 gas chromatographic-SIMCA algorithm, it was possible to correctly classify the majority of commercial gasoline samples. The method could be employed for rapid monitoring to discourage adulteration.

Downer‐to‐Riser Coupling Technique for Petroleum Refining

AbstractMany recent developments in the fluid catalytic cracking (FCC) technique have focused on achieving cleaner gasoline with less olefins and maximizing light olefins such as propylene. A coupled high‐density downer‐to‐riser reactor was proposed to utilize the advantages of both downer and riser to improve the gasoline quality and to efficiently control the product distribution. The basic idea is to decompose the complex FCC reactions into two reaction zones with distinct operating conditions. The downer accommodates high‐severity operation at the initial stage with the benefit of near plug‐flow while the riser is operated at a lower temperature with longer contacting time to promote hydrogen shift reactions. A comprehensive 2D reactor model is presented to predict the reactor performances for different reactor designs. The coupled downer‐to‐riser reactor design was found to have more light olefins and cleaner gasoline than the conventional riser and the coupled riser‐to‐riser reactor design.

Screening Brazilian Commercial Gasoline Quality by ASTM D6733 GC and Pattern-Recognition Multivariate SIMCA Chemometric Analysis

The combination of ASTM D6733 gas chromatographic fingerprinting data with pattern-recognition multivariate soft independent modeling of class analogy (SIMCA) chemometric analysis provides an original and alternative approach to screening Brazilian commercial gasoline quality in a monitoring program for quality control of automotive fuels. SIMCA was performed on chromatographic fingerprints to classify the quality of the gasoline samples. Using SIMCA, it was possible to correctly classify 94.0% of commercial gasoline samples, which is considered acceptable. The method is recommended for quality-control monitoring. Quality control and police laboratories could employ this method for rapid monitoring.

Improving the gasoline quality of liquid products from the Fisher–Tropsch process

The un-fractionated, un-hydro treated liquid fractions from the high temperature Fisher–Tropsch (HTFT) process was aromatized over HZSM-5 catalysts at different reaction temperatures and pressures to determine the impact. The flame ionisation detector–gas chromatography (FID–GC) results indicated that there were high amounts of aromatic and BTX (benzene, toluene, and xylenes) compounds contained in the gasoline fraction at a reaction temperature between 400 and 425 °C. Over a period of 6 days of TOL, the estimated Research Octane Numbers (RON) of different streams ranged between 102 and 93 and Motor Octane Numbers (MON) between 92 and 80. The RON and MON values of the streams resulting from the aromatization reaction indicated an improvement in octane and hence improved the blend ability or the component.

Study of Brazilian Gasoline Quality Using Hydrogen Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (1H NMR) Spectroscopy and Chemometrics

The identification of gasoline adulteration by organic solvents is not an easy task, because compounds that constitute the solvents are already in gasoline composition. In this work, the use of hydrogen nuclear magnetic resonance (1H NMR) with a statistical approach for identifying gasoline adulteration by organic solvents is described. Both principal component analysis (PCA) and hierarchical cluster analysis (HCA) from NMR data of 47 commercial samples allowed the distinction between conform and nonconform samples. The 1H NMR−PCA and 1H NMR−HCA models were evaluated through the analyses of 21 intentionally adulterated samples, which showed a tendency to meet in the nonconform group with the increase of the solvent concentration.

Development, optimization and validation of gas chromatographic fingerprinting of Brazilian commercial gasoline for quality control

Three-step development, optimization and validation strategy for GC fingerprints of Brazilian commercial gasoline is described. A suitable chromatographic system was selected first. The following step was to improve acceptable chromatographic resolution with reduced analysis time, which is recommended for routine applications. Optimization was carried out using full three-level factorial designs. Optimal conditions were obtained for flow rate, oven ramps, injection volume and split ratio. Finally, several validation parameters were performed. Therefore, a feasible and reliable fingerprint was established to identify Brazilian commercial gasoline quality. This strategy can also be applied to develop fingerprints for quality control of other fuels.

Desulfurization of FCC Gasoline: Novel Catalytic Processes with Zeolites

New regulations aim to achieve a drastic sulfur emission reduction in fuels and impose very low sulfur concentration caps (30 ppm in gasoline and 15 ppm in diesel) that will be in full force in 2009. FCC gasoline represents almost 40% of the total gasoline pool and it is the major sulfur contributor, with up to 85–95%. To deal with this situation, most refiners have adopted post-treating FCC gasoline processes given they are more viable and less costly for meeting sulfur environmental regulation limits. In this respect, one should notice that conventional hydro-treating of FCC gasoline removes sulfur decreasing gasoline quality with octane number losses. The use of hydrogen also adds important costs to the desulfurization. As a result, new promising catalytic desulfurization processes are being proposed using zeolites as adsorbents/catalysts. These new approaches may lead to novel technologies, for example, with the case of gasoline de-hydrosulfidation with no hydrogen addition and alternatively to adsorption processes with co-feeding of an H-donor being pioneered at CREC University of Western Ontario. In both approaches sulfur is efficiently removed leaving the gasoline octane number index intact. The zeolite structure, the framework composition and the properties of the charge compensating cations are all parameters with major impact on catalytic desulfurization. In particular, shape selectivity is expected to play an important role in determining product selectivity when condensation reactions are significant. In this respect, the H-ZSM5 zeolite appears to have the adequate balance of Brönsted acidity and Lewis basicity to efficiently convert thiophene to H2S, with minimal transformation of benzothiophene and oligomers into coke. From a chemical reactor engineering point of view, novel gasoline desulfurization can be implemented using both fixed and fluidized bed reactors. Fluidized circulating bed reactors display high sulfur removal ability allowing frequent catalyst removal from the catalytic bed and coke combustion in a twin fluidized regeneration unit. Fixed bed units with adsorption/desorption cycles, used in conjunction with and without H donor co-reactants, lead to selective adsorption and efficient removal of sulfur species.

A novel conceptional process for residue catalytic cracking and gasoline reformation dual-reactions mutual control

Abstract Based on the subsidiary riser FCC (SRFCC) process for gasoline reformation [Y.H. Bai, J.S. Gao, S.C. Li, C.M. Xu, Petrol. Process. Petrochem. (China) 35 (2004) 17–21, J.S. Gao, C.M. Xu, Y. Mao, et al., Petrol. Refin. Eng. (China) 35 (2005) 7–9], a novel conceptional process for residue catalytic cracking and gasoline reformation dual-reactions mutual control (DMC) was proposed and relevant experimental researches were carried out in a Technical Pilot Scale Riser (TPSR) FCC apparatus. The goals of DMC were to improve product quality and increase desirable product yield in residue catalytic cracking as well as in FCC gasoline upgrading. The experiments showed that the decrease of temperature difference between feedstock and regenerated catalysts in DMC by directly leading the cooled regenerated catalysts into riser reactor or feeding gasoline into riser reactor in vapor phase could decrease the amount of dry gas and coke and obtain a better quality of upgraded gasoline. Moreover, the spent catalysts still retaining high level of activity could be recycled to the base of the main riser reactor treating heavy oil and mixed with regenerated catalysts in DMC, it allows residue catalytic cracking to operate at high catalyst-to-oil ratio and the relatively low inlet catalysts temperature. The experimental results also showed that the mixed catalysts could improve the product selectivity in residue catalytic cracking, especially for light oil (gasoline and diesel). In addition, compared with the routine RFCC, the product distribution from the residue catalytic cracking in DMC contains more liquid products, less dry gas, and a better gasoline quality.

A comparative study of calibration transfer methods for determination of gasoline quality parameters in three different near infrared spectrometers

This work presents a comparative study of calibration transfer among three near infrared spectrometers for determination of naphthenes and RON (Research Octane Number) in gasoline. Seven transfer methods are compared: direct standardization (DS), piecewise direct standardization (PDS), orthogonal signal correction (OSC), reverse standardization (RS), piecewise reverse standardization (PRS), slope and bias correction (SBC) and model updating (MU). Two pre-treatment procedures, namely standard normal variate (SNV) and multiplicative scatter correction (MSC), are also investigated. The choice of an appropriate number of transfer samples for each technique, as well as the effect of window size in PDS/PRS and OSC components, are discussed. A broad set of gasoline samples representative of the Northeastern states of Brazil is employed in the investigation. The results show that the use of calibration transfer yields prediction errors comparable to those obtained with complete recalibration of the secondary instrument. Overall, the results point to RS as the best method for the analytical problem under consideration. When storage and/or physical transportation of transfer samples are impractical, MU is more appropriate. The comprehensive investigation carried out in the present work will be of value for practitioners involved in networks of fuel monitoring.

Synthesis of La-modified ultra stable zeolite L and its application to catalytic cracking catalyst

A new type of zeolite La-USL (ultra stable zeolite L (zeolite USL) modified by La), which has superior activity, stability and selectivity in catalytic cracking of hydrocarbons and thus can be used as an active catalyst component, is reported in this paper. The zeolite L with relative crystallinity of above 90% was synthesized by the hydrothermal crystallization method under optimum conditions and characterized by means of XRD, NH3-TPD and isotherm adsorption techniques. The in-situ synthesized zeolite L with a SiO2/Al2O3 mole ratio of 5–6 was modified by cation ion exchange, hydrothermal dealumination and chemical modifications with La in order to prepare La-containing USL with a higher framework SiO2/Al2O3 mole ratio of 15–30. The modified zeolite La-USL was used as an active additive component of fluid catalytic cracking (FCC) catalyst and the resulting catalysts were evaluated by microactivity test (MAT) and fixed-fluidized bed (FFB) experiments using heavy oil as feedstock. The influence of La content in La-USL on cracking product distribution, gasoline group composition and research octane number (RON) was investigated. The results showed that when La content in La-USL was 0.8 wt%, the addition of the corresponding La-USL could result in a FCC catalyst that produced significant improvement in product distribution and gasoline quality.

Screening brazilian automotive gasoline quality through quantification of saturated hydrocarbons and anhydrous ethanol by gas chromatography and exploratory data analysis

Screening brazilian automotive gasoline quality through quantification of saturated hydrocarbons and anhydrous ethanol by gas chromatography and exploratory data analysis

Screening Brazilian Automotive Gasoline Quality through Quantification of Saturated Hydrocarbons and Anhydrous Ethanol by Gas Chromatography and Exploratory Data Analysis

In this paper a set of Brazilian commercial gasoline representative samples from Sao Paulo State, selected by HCA, plus six samples obtained directly from refineries were analysed by a high-sensitive gas chromatographic (GC) method ASTM D6733. The levels of saturated hydrocarbons and anhydrous ethanol obtained by GC were correlated with the quality obtained from Brazilian Government Petroleum, Natural Gas and Biofuels Agency (ANP) specifications through exploratory analysis (HCA and PCA). This correlation showed that the GC method, together with HCA and PCA, could be employed as a screening technique to determine compliance with the prescribed legal standards of Brazilian gasoline.

Screening Brazilian C gasoline quality: Application of the SIMCA chemometric method to gas chromatographic data

A total of 2400 samples of commercial Brazilian C gasoline were collected over a 6-month period from different gas stations in the São Paulo state, Brazil, and analysed with respect to 12 physicochemical parameters according to regulation 309 of the Brazilian Government Petroleum, Natural Gas and Biofuels Agency (ANP). The percentages (v/v) of hydrocarbons (olefins, aromatics and saturated) were also determined. Hierarchical cluster analysis (HCA) was employed to select 150 representative samples that exhibited least similarity on the basis of their physicochemical parameters and hydrocarbon compositions. The chromatographic profiles of the selected samples were measured by gas chromatography with flame ionisation detection and analysed using soft independent modelling of class analogy (SIMCA) method in order to create a classification scheme to identify conform gasolines according to ANP 309 regulation. Following the optimisation of the SIMCA algorithm, it was possible to classify correctly 96% of the commercial gasoline samples present in the training set of 100. In order to check the quality of the model, an external group of 50 gasoline samples (the prediction set) were analysed and the developed SIMCA model classified 94% of these correctly. The developed chemometric method is recommended for screening commercial gasoline quality and detection of potential adulteration.

Fine-particle Mn and other metals linked to the introduction of MMT into gasoline in Sydney, Australia: Results of a natural experiment

Using a combination of accelerator-based ion beam methods we have analysed PM 2.5 particulates for a suite of 21 species (H, C, Na, Al, Si, P, S, Cl, K, Ca, Ti, V, Cr, Mn, Fe, Co, Ni, Cu, Zn, Br, Pb) to evaluate the contribution to Sydney (New South Wales, Australia) air associated with the introduction of MMT as a replacement for lead. MMT was discontinued in 2004. Teflon filters representing continuous sampling for a 7 year period from 1998 to 2004 were analysed from two sites: one from Mascot, a suburb close to the Central Business District [CBD ( n = 718 )] and a high trafficked area, and the other, a relatively rural (background) setting at Richmond, ∼20 km west of the CBD ( n = 730 ). Manganese concentrations in air at the background site increased from a mean of 1.5–1.6 ng m −3 to less than 2 ng m −3 at the time of greatest MMT use whereas those at Mascot increased from about 2 to 5 ng m −3. From the maximum values, the Mn showed a steady decrease at both sites concomitant with the decreasing use of MMT. Lead concentrations in air at both sites decreased from 1998 onwards, concomitant with the phase out of leaded gasoline, attained in 2002. Employing previously determined elemental signatures it was possible to adjust effects from season along with auto emissions and soil. A high correlation was obtained for the relationship between Mn in air and lead replacement gasoline use ( R 2 0.83) and an improved correlation for Mn/ Al+Si+K and lead replacement gasoline use ( R 2 0.93). In addition, using Mn concentrations normalized to background values of Al+Si+K or Ti to account for the lithogenically derived Mn, the proportion of anthropogenic Mn was approximately 70%. The changes for Mn and Pb detected in the particulates are attributed to the before-during-after use of MMT and decreasing use of lead in gasoline. The values measured in Sydney air are well below the reference concentration of 50 ng Mn m −3. The incremental increases in air, however, are larger than expected given the limited use of MMT only in lead replacement gasoline and high quality monitoring should be undertaken in countries where MMT is used in all gasoline.

Gasoline quality prediction using gas chromatography and FTIR spectroscopy: An artificial intelligence approach

This paper reports on analysis of 45 gasoline samples with different qualities, namely, octane number and chemical composition. Measurements of data from gas chromatography and IR (FTIR) spectroscopy are used to gasoline quality prediction and classification. The data were processed using principal component analysis (PCA) and fuzzy C means (FCM) algorithm. The data were then analyzed following the neural network paradigms, hybrid neural network and support vector machines (SVM) classifier. The IR spectra were compressed and de-noised by the discrete wavelet analysis. Using the hybrid neural network and multi linear regression method (MLRM), excellent correlation between chemical composition of the gasoline samples and predicted value of the octane number was obtained. About 100% correct classification for six different categories of the gasoline was achieved, each of which has different qualities.