Analysis of Trace Water in Liquefied Petroleum Gas

Shale Oil & Gas
Oral Presentation

Prepared by A. Mason, R. Marfil-Vega, I. Shaffer
Shimadzu Scientific Instruments, 7102 Riverwood Drive, Columbia, MD, 21046, United States


Contact Information: [email protected]; 410-910-0884

ABSTRACT

Trace water content has long plagued petrochemical feedstocks. Water causes damage in numerous ways including catalyst poisoning at refinery sites, freezing of valves and pipeline corrosion. These effects can increase the risk of environmental disasters due to spills. Analyzing moisture, and how much of it, is critical to the performance of petroleum products, as well as infrastructure and product integrity. One popular method used to analyze for moisture is Karl Fischer Titration (KFT). KFT has a wide dynamic range but has difficulty in measuring relatively low amounts of moisture. In addition, there are the well-known problems of side reactions and known interferences with compounds commonly found in petrochemical feedstocks. Here we present a gas chromatographic technique for the analysis of trace water in liquefied petroleum gas using the Shimadzu Barrier Discharge Ionization Detector (BID) with Millipore Sigma's moisture analysis column "Watercol". This combination separates and measures the moisture in a formulation of feedstock and provides sensitive and accurate results with measurements down to a ppm level of moisture detection without any interference.