Presentation Profile
Sulfur Simulated Distillation with Speciation
Main Author
Gabriel Villarreal - Lummus Technology
Abstract:
Sulfur characterization remains a critical component of refinery process monitoring, product quality control, and environmental compliance. While conventional sulfur simulated distillation methods provide valuable information on the boiling range distribution of sulfur-containing compounds, they offer limited insight into the specific sulfur species present across the distillation profile. This work demonstrates an enhanced approach that combines sulfur simulated distillation with sulfur speciation, enabling a more comprehensive understanding of sulfur distribution within petroleum streams.
The method modifies the traditional ASTM D7807 sulfur simulated distillation configuration by not only allowing Sulfur Simulated Distillation but also Sulfur speciation as well. The chromatographic effluent is split between a flame ionization detector (FID), which provides the conventional boiling point distribution, and a sulfur chemiluminescence detector (SCD), which selectively detects sulfur species with high sensitivity and specificity.
This presentation will describe the instrumental modifications, chromatographic setup, detector configuration, and calibration strategy required to successfully integrate sulfur speciation into a sulfur simulated distillation workflow. Comparative results will be presented to illustrate the impact of column selection and detector configuration on sulfur distribution profiles, sulfur species identification, and overall data quality. The technique provides a unique opportunity to simultaneously determine the boiling range distribution of sulfur and gain insight into the chemical nature of sulfur-containing compounds throughout the distillation curve.
By combining sulfur simulated distillation with sulfur-selective detection, this approach delivers enhanced characterization of refinery feedstocks and products, offering valuable information for process optimization, catalyst management, and product compliance assessments.
