A New Method for the Determination of S, V, Fe, Ni, Pb and Other Elements in Some Distilled Fractions of Crude Petroleum by TXRF

The possibility of employing the Total Reflection X-ray fluorescence (TXRF) technique for the analysis of some derivatives of petroleum crude oil (Petrol, Diesel oil, Fuel oil), is demonstrated with the help of certified standards (NIST, ENEL, ICIP). The quantitative analysis is conducted via an internal standard method. Some problems about elements volatility (S in Diesel oil and Pb in Petrol) are solved to permit an accurate quantitative simultaneous determination of the elements (from Z = 13 to Z = 90 with a detection limit in the range from ppb to ppm) present in the samples of petroleum derivatives. The analyses are conducted with a new Total Reflection X-ray spectrometer (TX 2000 supplied by Ital Structures)