High performance liquid chromatographic hydrocarbon group-type analyses of mid-distillates employing fuel-derived fractions as standards

Two high performance liquid chromatographic (HPLC) methods have been developed for the determination of saturates, olefins and aromatics in petroleum and shale derived mid-distillate fuels. In one method the fuel to be analyzed is reacted with sulfuric acid, to remove a substantial portion of the aromatics, which provides a reacted fuel fraction for use in group type quantitation. The second involves the removal of a substantial portion of the saturates fraction from the HPLC system to permit the determination of olefin concentrations as low as 0.3 volume percent, and to improve the accuracy and precision of olefins determinations. Each method was evaluated using model compound mixtures and real fuel samples