Determination of Structural Building Blocks in Heavy Petroleum Systems by Collision-Induced Dissociation Fourier Transform Ion Cyclotron Resonance Mass Spectrometry

CATEGORY: HEAVY CRUDE
Anal. Chem., 2012, 84 (10), pp 4544–4551, DOI: 10.1021/ac300544s
Determination of Structural Building Blocks in Heavy Petroleum Systems by Collision-Induced Dissociation Fourier Transform Ion Cyclotron Resonance Mass Spectrometry
Kuangnan Qian *, Kathleen E. Edwards , Anthony S. Mennito , Howard Freund , Roland B. Saeger , Karl J. Hickey, Manny A. Francisco , Cathleen Yung , Birbal Chawla , Chunping Wu , J. Douglas Kushnerick , and William N. Olmstead
Kuangnan.Qian@ExxonMobil.com
ExxonMobil Research and Engineering Company, Annandale, New Jersey 08801, United States
Abstract
Reports design of collision-induced dissociation Fourier Transform ion cyclotron resonance mass spectrometry (CID-FTICR MS) to determine structural building blocks in heavy petroleum systems. Researchers synthesized model compounds with both single core and multicore configurations to study the fragmentation pattern and response factors in the CID reactions.
They discovered dealkylation to be the most prevalent reaction pathway in the CID. Single core molecules exhibit primarily molecular weight reduction with no change in the total unsaturation of the molecule. However, molecules containing more than one aromatic core will decompose into the constituting single cores and consequently exhibit both molecular weight reduction and change in Z-numbers. Biaryl linkage, C₁ linkage, and aromatic sulfide linkage cannot be broken down by CID with lab collision energy up to 50 eV while C₂+ alkyl linkages can be easily broken. Naphthenic ring-openings were observed in CID, leading to formation of olefinic structures.
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