Silicon speciation by gas chromatography coupled to mass spectrometry in gasolines

A method for the speciation of silicon compounds in petroleum products was developed using gas chromatography coupled to mass spectrometry (GC-MS). Prior to analysis, several precautions about storage and conservation were applied for all samples. In spiked gasoline samples, limits of detection between 24 and 69 μg kg(-1) for cyclic siloxanes (D(4)-D(6)) and between 1 and 7 μg kg(-1) for other species were obtained. In this study, cyclic siloxanes (D(n)) and one ethoxysilane were quantified for the first time in petroleum products by a specific method based on response factor calculation to an internal standard. This method was applied to four samples of naphthas and gasolines obtained from a steam cracking process. Cyclic siloxanes were predominant in four investigated samples with concentrations ranging between 101 and 2204 μg kg(-1). Cyclic siloxane content decreased with an increase in their degree of polymerization. During a steam cracking process, silicon concentrations determined by GC-MS SIM (single ion monitoring) significantly increase. This trend was confirmed by ICP-OES (inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectroscopy) measurements but a difference on the total silicon content was observed, certainly highlighting the presence of unknown silicon species. GC-MS SIM method gives access to the chemical nature of the silicon species, which is crucial for the understanding of hydrotreatment catalyst poisoning in the oil and gas industry.