Methods for Total and Speciation Analysis of Mercury in the Petroleum Industry

Abstract

Mercury is one of most dangerous contaminants of natural gas and petroleum and petroleum fractions present in the crude oil industry due to its corrosive properties. The determination of Hg levels in petroleum products is a prerequisite for risk evaluation and ensuring an efficient Hg removal. This Review focuses on total and speciation analyses of Hg in the petroleum industry. We describe the constraints related to sampling and analysis for both natural gas and liquid petroleum products and the different methodologies developed over the past decades. Despite the low detection limits reached with various methodologies, the reliability of measurements might strongly depend on sampling and storage practices. The preservation of all Hg species from sampling to analysis might require some further evaluation. We evaluated the speciation methodologies based on reported performances. We however conclude that the lack of reference material for Hg speciation analysis in petroleum hampers a robust evaluation of the methods. Future developments might allow a better characterization of the different Hg species, helpful to understand the partitioning of Hg between the different petroleum phases.

A Retrospection on Mercury Contamination, Bioaccumulation, and Toxicity in Diverse Environments: Current Insights and Future Prospects

“…Entry of Hg to water bodies through effluents [24] Discharges from oil refineries [25] Food products Consumption of food products contaminated with Hg [26] Cosmetic products Skin lightening creams, toothpaste, and soap [27] Medical products Dental amalgam, antiseptics and some Ayurvedic medicines. [28] Consumer goods Plastic, paint, batteries, lamps, switches, thermometers, bulbs [29] Terrestrial vegetation act as a significant reservoir in the biogeochemical cycle of atmospheric Hg.…”

Assessment of Hg Speciation Changes in the Sedimentary Rock Record From Thermal Desorption Characteristics

“…Many dedicated Hg analyzers are based on pyrolysis‐based methods, whereby the sample material is rapidly heated to a temperature where most naturally occurring Hg species are desorbed (>700°C). Mercury is quantified through atomic absorption spectroscopy, with or without an intermediate step where Hg is amalgamated onto gold (gold trapping) (e.g., Enrico et al., 2020). Over the past decades, several studies have established and utilized thermal desorption profiles (TDPs) of Hg species, including, for example, elemental Hg, OM‐bound Hg, HgS ((meta‐)cinnabar), HgO (montroydite), HgSO 4 and HgSe (tiemannite) to determine their abundance in natural and polluted sediment samples (e.g., Bełdowska et al., 2018; Biester & Scholz, 1997; Bombach et al., 1994; Rumayor, Diaz‐Somoano, et al., 2015; Rumayor, Lopez‐Anton, et al., 2015; Rumayor et al., 2013; Saniewska & Bełdowska, 2017; Petranich et al., 2022; Table 1).…”

Virtual Special Issue of the 21st International Conference on Petroleum Phase Behavior and Fouling (PetroPhase2020)

“…This review focuses on the sample preparation in applying matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization (MADI) and laser desorption/ionization mass spectrometry (LDI MS) methods to characterize various heavy resids. Bouyssiere and co-workers summarize the analytical methods on the analysis of total and speciation of mercury in petroleum samples.…”