DUHOK POLYTECHNIC UNIVERSITY

TECHNICAL COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING

PETROCHEMICAL ENGINEERING DEPARTMENT

Mass transfer LABORATORY

Name of student : Amer mohammed Abdullah

Group : A
Name of experiment : determination of hydrocarbon
Group aromatic, olefins and saturated groups) by using
fluorination detector (adsorption process).
Number of experiment : 3
Data of experiment : 7 -12-2019
Objective :
Determination of the concentrations of hydrocarbon groups by
calculating the volume ratio for the layer of aromatic groups,
olefins groups and for the saturated groups layer. The layers
exposed by UV rays, where each group gives a different color
layer than the other .

Introduction :
The saturated hydrocarbon ,and olefins, and aromatic
component types in lighter petroleum distillates are commonly
determined by the fluorescent indicator adsorption (FIA) .
The FIA analyzer determines the total volume % of saturated
hydrocarbons, non-aromatic olefins and aromatics in liquid
petroleum products. A fluorescent indicator adsorption analyses
separates hydrocarbons along with fluorescent dyes in a column
packed with silica gel as adsorbent . Ultraviolet light will make
the fluorescent dyes in each zone visible. The quantitative
determination helps to characterize the quality of petroleum
fractions as blending components for motor and aviation fuels
and as feeds to catalytic reforming processes.
The method in which a small sample is passed through a long
narrow chromatographic column, and the composition is
computed from the lengths of the zones. This simple method has
been extended to the determination of hydrocarbon types in
smaller than normal concentrations, the pertinent zone
developed by the usual procedure is too short to measure. This
was circumvented by using a larger charge of measured volume
and calculating the concentration of the trace by means of a
calibration factor. analysis of heavier distillates was
accomplished by alteration of column dimensions.
Equipment used in FIA :
1-Wall mounting panel with mounting fixtures for up to 4
column.
2-precision adsorption column (separation column ).
3- pressure gauges.
4- needle valves and pressure manifolds.
5-Handheld UV lamp (U.V Source).
6- compressor.
7- Portable vibrator (shaker ).
8- syringe .
9- funnel.
10-tube .
Reagents :

1- Adsorbent (silica gel powder).

2- fluorination detector.
3- solvent or medium (Isopropanol)
4- sample.

Procedure
1-Install the separation column as shown in the image above,
then add a quantity of silica gel powder from the top of the
column by using a funnel and perform the column deflection
using the shaker for the silica packed until half the size of the
column is filled .
2- Add fluorination detector (1-3 mm).
3-Add an increase of silica gel and keep the shaft until the
length of the material in the separation column reaches a
height of (75 mm).
4-Wipe the separation column with a damp cloth to remove the
static electricity that obstructs the movement of the model
with the solvent.
5- Shake again for four minutes to complete the powder wel .
6- Installthe separation column on the device (preferably the
device in a dark room
7-Pull out 0.75 ml of the sample to be examined with a special
syringe and place it in the refrigerator to cool it to (2-4).
8-After cooling we inject the model into a silica gel with a depth
of (30) mm.
9- Fill the column using solvent (Isopropanol) to the top.
10- Connect the column to the air supply tube of the
compressor.
11-In the beginning, the air is pumped with pressure of (14 KPa)
for 2.5 minutes to move the model to the bottom of the
column. Then we raise the pressure to (34 KPa) for another two
and a half minutes and then adjust the amount of pressure
The required (to our estimate) to fill the tube during a full hour
pressure is usually from (28-69 KPa) for the gasoline product
and (69-103 KPa) for the pure kerosene product (jet fuel).
12. Then a red layer is shown in the tube which is the aromatic
alcoholic compounds length (350) mm. Then we determine the
colored rings that will appear using the device (U.V Source) and
according to the figure shown below and the colors of these
totals are as follows:
-The aromatic layer is blue.
- The layer of amorphous and yellow color.
- The layer of saturated compounds is colorless.
Calculation :
Discussion :
In this experiment The Fluorescent Indicator Adsorption
apparatus is an essential tool for testing hydrocarbon types in
petroleum products. The silica gel adsorption column with
fluorescent indicator presents the main hydrocarbons
components of liquid petroleum products. The silica column has
a mixture of dyes with fluorescent properties. Solvent elution
facilities separation of the dyes. Calculating the volume
percentage aromatics, olefins, and saturates is facilitated by the
use of an ultraviolet lamp (uv sources ), which makes the
boundaries visible. The fluorescent dye responds to UV light.
Measurement of the length of each zone reveals volume
percentages of each component. And we make a shaking by
Portable vibrator (shaker).
the main sources of errors in this type of testing are incomplete
elution and improper packing of the column. The saturates
separate and move down the column first because they have less
of an affinity for the silica gel than olefins and aromatics. The
olefins have less of an affinity for the silica gel than aromatics
and move down the column before the aromatics. The dye
mixture contains three different components, one which has an
affinity for silica gel which is greater than the saturates but less
than the olefins.