Evolution of Sulfur Compounds and Hydrocarbons Classes in Diesel Fuels during Hydrodesulfurization. Combined Use of Thin-Layer Chromatography and GC−Sulfur-Selective Chemiluminescence Detection

Monometallic Pd and Pt and Bimetallic Pd-Pt/Al2O3-TiO2for the HDS of DBT: Effect of the Pd and Pt Incorporation Method

The effect of the preparation method of monometallic Pd and Pt and bimetallic Pd-Pt/Al2O3-TiO2catalysts on the hydrodesulfurization (HDS) of dibenzothiophene (DBT) was investigated in this study. The synthesis was accomplished using three methods: (A) impregnation, (B) metal organic chemical vapor deposition (MOCVD), and (C) impregnation-MOCVD. The bimetallic Pd-Pt catalyst prepared by the impregnation-MOCVD method was most active for the HDS of DBT compared to those prepared by the single impregnation or MOCVD method due to the synergetic effect between both noble metals. The greater selectivity toward biphenyl indicated that this bimetallic Pd-Pt catalyst preferentially removes sulfur via the direct desulfurization mechanism. However, the bimetallic Pd-Pt catalyst prepared using the single MOCVD method did not produce any cyclohexylbenzene, which is most likely associated with the hydrogenation/dehydrogenation sites.

β-Cyclodextrin as a stationary phase for the group separation of polycyclic aromatic compounds in normal-phase liquid chromatography

The separation of highly alkylated polycyclic aromatic compounds according to the size of their aromatic system is investigated using the polycyclic aromatic sulfur heterocycles in vacuum gas oil. A large number of reference compounds containing several parent ring systems and different alkylation patterns were first investigated to characterize the retention of polycyclic aromatic compounds likely to occur in high-boiling petroleum samples. A beta-cyclodextrin phase, Merck ChiraDex, was found to be more suitable than chemically bonded aminopropanosilane and tetrachlorophthalimide in normal-phase HPLC with respect to a combination of selectivity towards the number of aromatic double bonds and degree of influence of the alkyl groups of the aromatic compounds. Finally the preseparated polycyclic aromatic sulfur heterocycles from a vacuum gas oil were fractionated according to the number of condensed aromatic rings on the ChiraDex phase and were characterized by Fourier transform ion cyclotron resonance mass spectrometry.

General Contribution of Nonspecific Interactions to Fluorescence Intensity

Many chemical compounds, including nonfluorescent ones, induce changes in the fluorescence spectra of certain probes, such as berberine cation and Reichardt's betaine, both in the absence and the presence of solvent, that affect almost exclusively emission intensity. In this work, the application of fluorescence detection by intensity changes (FDIC) to HPLC and TLC chromatographic systems with fluorescence detectors has been studied. FDIC detection is of special interest in detecting nonfluorescent analytes, either in HPLC or in TLC mode. It does not involve covalent interactions, and the dielectric permittivity (epsilon) of the medium plays an important role. The balance between nonspecific and specific interactions produces either an increase or a decrease in fluorescence intensity. Therefore, the influence of chromatographic conditions and chemical structure of analytes on the sign and magnitude of fluorescence peaks for sample detection in HPLC and TLC systems has been discussed. In general, probe nature and concentration determine response and detection sensitivity for a given sample in TLC and HPLC. As solubility and fluorescence properties in solvents determine the operating conditions for a FDIC probe in HPLC mode, nature and flows of mobile phase and solvent are important for chromatographic response and detection sensitivity.