Abstract
We have determined the concentration of 25 trace elements in crude petroleum from seven Libyan oil fields by instrumental neutron activation analysis. Crude oil samples were irradiated with a thermal neutron dose rate of 1012 and 1013 n·cm−2·s−1 in the Tajoura research reactor. The concentration of U, Br, Mg, Cu, Na, V, Cl, Al, Mn and Ca is in a range of 0.015 to 84 ppm and that of sulphur of 0.12 to 1.8%. The elements Sc, Cr, Ni, Fe, Co, Zn, Ag, Se, Sb, Ba, Cs, Yb, Hf and Hg have a concentration range of 0.009 to 8747 ppb. The coefficients of variation are within ∼10%. The elements V and Ni occur as both porphyrin and non-porphyrin and the ratio of these two forms varies over a wide range. The V/Ni ratios are located between 0.17 and 6.67, which are comparable to the reported values for the crude oils from other countries.
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Musa, M.M., Markus, W.M., Elghondi, A.A. et al. Neutron activation analysis of major and trace elements in crude petroleum. Journal of Radioanalytical and Nuclear Chemistry, Articles 198, 17–22 (1995). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02038241
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02038241