TY - JOUR
T1 - Direct quantification of aromatic hydrocarbons in geochemical fluids with a mid-infrared attenuated total reflection sensor
AU - Pejcic, Bobby
AU - Boyd, Leigh
AU - Myers, Matthew
AU - Ross, Andrew
AU - Raichlin, Yosef
AU - Katzir, Abraham
AU - Lu, Rui
AU - Mizaikoff, Boris
N1 - Funding Information:
We greatly acknowledge the funding provided by the CSIRO Wealth from Oceans Flagship and the capability development fund at CESRE. RL and BM acknowledge support of parts of this study by the China Scholarship Council ( 2011634033 ) and by the Young Scientist Exchange Program (YSEP) within the BMBF–MOST German–Israeli Water Technology Research Initiative (Project #YSEP63). We are grateful to the three anonymous reviewers for constructive comments which helped improve the quality of the manuscript.
PY - 2013/2
Y1 - 2013/2
N2 - An improved analytical method for directly and rapidly quantifying various monocyclic and polycyclic aromatic molecules in oil-water mixtures has been developed. This study reports on the application of a sensor based on attenuated total reflection Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (ATR-FTIR) for determining the concentration of a number of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in water. The mid-infrared (MIR) sensor consists of a zinc selenide (ZnSe) waveguide with the surface modified by a thin poly(isobutylene) (PIB) coating. The sensitivity was investigated at different polymer film thicknesses and molecular weights. The analytical performance of the sensor was validated in the laboratory against a standard analytical technique for analyzing petroleum based samples. We have shown that the sensor may accurately quantify the benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene, xylenes and naphthalene (BTEXN) concentration in an oil-water mixture. The ATR-FTIR method overcomes the limitations associated with sampling/sample preparation and has the advantage that it may easily discriminate between meta- and para-xylene, which is difficult with conventional analytical techniques (i.e., GC). In addition, this technology may potentially be deployed in the field for geochemical mapping and to monitor in situ the concentration profile of a number of hydrocarbons in geological formations (e.g., petroleum systems). To demonstrate this, a miniaturized prototype of an ATR-IR sensor system taking advantage of planar-tapered silver halide fibers has been developed and tested.
AB - An improved analytical method for directly and rapidly quantifying various monocyclic and polycyclic aromatic molecules in oil-water mixtures has been developed. This study reports on the application of a sensor based on attenuated total reflection Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (ATR-FTIR) for determining the concentration of a number of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in water. The mid-infrared (MIR) sensor consists of a zinc selenide (ZnSe) waveguide with the surface modified by a thin poly(isobutylene) (PIB) coating. The sensitivity was investigated at different polymer film thicknesses and molecular weights. The analytical performance of the sensor was validated in the laboratory against a standard analytical technique for analyzing petroleum based samples. We have shown that the sensor may accurately quantify the benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene, xylenes and naphthalene (BTEXN) concentration in an oil-water mixture. The ATR-FTIR method overcomes the limitations associated with sampling/sample preparation and has the advantage that it may easily discriminate between meta- and para-xylene, which is difficult with conventional analytical techniques (i.e., GC). In addition, this technology may potentially be deployed in the field for geochemical mapping and to monitor in situ the concentration profile of a number of hydrocarbons in geological formations (e.g., petroleum systems). To demonstrate this, a miniaturized prototype of an ATR-IR sensor system taking advantage of planar-tapered silver halide fibers has been developed and tested.
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=84872229088&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1016/j.orggeochem.2012.11.011
DO - 10.1016/j.orggeochem.2012.11.011
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AN - SCOPUS:84872229088
SN - 0146-6380
VL - 55
SP - 63
EP - 71
JO - Organic Geochemistry
JF - Organic Geochemistry
ER -