Hydrocarbon compound type analysis by mass spectrometry is a simple and powerful method that provides extensive compositional information about complex petroleum fractions. Sample introduction into the mass spectrometer has been successfully done for over 30 years using the all-glass heated inlet system (AGHIS). However, the limited transportability of the AGHIS has considerably restricted the wider usage of mass spectrometry for hydrocarbon compound type analysis. In this work, a gas chromatograph (GC) has been examined as a system equivalent to the AGHIS for the introduction of petroleum fractions into the mass spectrometer (MS). It is demonstrated that the GC is a versatile system that offers many advantages over the AGHIS, including simplicity of operation, ease of maintenance, automation, and transportability. Most importantly, the use of the GC allows for the detection of individual compounds, a feature not available with the AGHIS. The capabilities of the GC/MS system have been examined by the analysis of several representative petroleum fractions. The differences in the results obtained by the two sample introduction methods are of the same order of magnitude as the repeatability of the two methods. The ability of the GC/MS system to determine individual compounds in lowboiling-range samples has been illustrated by the use of selective-ion monitoring (SIM) experiments. Individual compounds in heavier samples have been determined by using the automated deconvolution program AMDIS to separate overlapping components.
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