THE DETERMINATION OF SULPHUR IN PETROLEUM PRODUCTS

Abstract : In the fuel industry, the most usual method for the determination of total sulphur in petroleum is the oxidation principle by combustion of the sample in a stream of oxygen or air, followed by determination of the sulphur as sulphate. The extensive field of usefulness and the efficiency of the hydration method of sulphur determination are given. All industrial petroleum products, including low-temperature lignite tar, can be analysed by the hydration method. Besides these good results of sulphur determination by the hydration method, the consequent improvement in productivity compared with the method of oxyhydrogen gas deserves special mention, the improvement being as much as 500%. This is attained by working with minimal sample quantities and the elimination of the tedious preparation of the absorption solution for the analysis of the sulphate. (Author)