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Application of Fluorescence to the Study of Crude Petroleum

Journal of Fluorescence volume 21, pages 859–864 (2011)Cite this article

Abstract

Crude petroleum oils are complex mixtures of different compounds (mainly organic), which are obtained from an extensive range of different geological sources. The fluorescence of crude petroleum oils derives largely from the aromatic hydrocarbon fraction, and this fluorescence emission is strongly influenced by the chemical composition (e.g., fluorophore and quencher concentrations) and physical characteristics (e.g., viscosity and optical density) of the oil. The fluorescence spectroscopy (FS) is increasingly used in petroleum technology due the availability of better optical detection techniques, because FS offers high sensitivity, good diagnostic potential, and relatively simple instrumentation. In this work we analyzed crude petroleum at different dilution in Nujol, a transparent mineral oil. The main objective of this work was to verify the possibility to measure crude oil emission spectroscopic without use of volatile solvents. The mixtures of nujol with different -crude oil concentrations were measured with a 10 mm optical path cuvette thus simplifying the fluorescence spectroscopy signal detection. The emission spectra were obtained by exciting the samples with a 400 W Xenon lamp at 350 nm, 450 nm and 532 nm. The emissions of the samples were collected perpendicularly with the excitation axis.

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Acknowledgments

The authors are indebted to CAPES, FAPESP and PETROBRAS for their financial support.

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Affiliations

  1. Department of Chemical Engineering, Polytechnic School, University of São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil

    Juliana Steffens & Roberto Guardani

  2. Nuclear and Energetic Research Institute, São Paulo, Brazil

    Eduardo Landulfo & Lilia Coronato Courrol

  3. University Federal of São Paulo, Diadema, Brazil

    Lilia Coronato Courrol

Authors
  1. Juliana Steffens
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  2. Eduardo Landulfo
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  3. Lilia Coronato Courrol
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  4. Roberto Guardani
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Correspondence to Juliana Steffens.

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Steffens, J., Landulfo, E., Courrol, L.C. et al. Application of Fluorescence to the Study of Crude Petroleum. J Fluoresc 21, 859–864 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10895-009-0586-4

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10895-009-0586-4

Keywords

  • Fluorescence
  • Crude petroleum
  • Emission spectra
  • Nujol