Applied X-Ray Spectroscopy in the Petroleum Industry

Abstract

Although x-ray diffraction analysis on a research basis has been in use for many years, it has been the development of the fully automatic spectrometer which has promoted this method to a position of importance in the larger petroleum analytical laboratories. This instrument provides the analysis of certain complex inorganic and organic compounds which no other method can handle. Moreover, in many cases more familiar materials can be identified much more rapidly than by the better known wet analytical procedures. This paper discusses some of the techniques for handling samples which are processed through the Inspection Division of the Technical Service Department, Socony-Vacuum Laboratories. X-ray analyses of these samples are handled in an average time which is under three hours. The work includes the rapid identification of a variety of corrosion products, cylinder and piston deposits, nominally pure chemicals and various contaminants found in used petroleum products and deposits taken from lubricating systems. Rapid x-ray analyses are made possible by taking advantage of a number of techniques in the handling of samples which are described in detail in the report.