Application of NMR Spectroscopy in the Analysis of Petroleum Derivatives and Products

Complex chemical composition and physical properties of oil and fuel make their complete cha racterization very difficult. Components present in oil and oil products differ in structure, size, po larity and functionality. The presence and structure of specific hydrocarbons in final products depend on the processing procedure and type of the fuel. In order to predict or improve fuel pro perties it is necessary to determine its composition. Thus, new and more sophisticated analytical methods and procedures are constantly being developed. NMR spectroscopy plays a significant role in analysis and identification of complex hydrocarbon mixtures of petroleum and petroleum products. In this review, we describe the application of NMR spectroscopy for analyzing gasoline and diesel fuels. Hence, by using NMR spectroscopy it is possible to determine gasoline composition and presence of benzene and oxygenates, as well as some important physical characteristics of gasoli ne such as the research octane number. An application of different NMR techniques made it pos sible to characterize diesel fuels and middle oil distillates from various refineries. Data so obtained can be used in combination with statistical methods to predict fuel properties and to monitor pro- duction processes in the petroleum industry. NMR spectroscopy has proven useful in analysis of FAME which has recently been used as an ecologically acceptable alternative fuel. Furthermore, techniques such as CP/MAS for characterization of solid state oil-geochemical samples are inclu- ded. Also, possibilities of using NMR spectroscopy in the analysis of polymeric additives are di- scussed.