Aviation fuels have strict performance specifications which require the monitoring and quantification of polar contaminants through time consuming methods. We have developed a procedure utilizing solid phase extraction (SPE) and tile-based Fisher-ratio (F-ratio) analysis enabling the comparison of fuels for discovering the presence of polar compounds with comprehensive two-dimensional gas chromatography with time-of-flight mass spectrometry (GC×GC-TOFMS). Passing aviation fuel through either a silica or alumina phase SPE cartridge facilitates the targeted removal of polar compounds from the fuel, creating a “pass” sample which can be directly compared via F-ratio analysis to the original neat fuel sample. This method was successfully applied to a variety of fuels, revealing the presence of several phenolic and other heteroatom containing compounds that compromise fuel performance. To validate, the compounds discovered by F-ratio analysis were confirmed against the SPE “extract” sample chromatograms. Based upon this research methodology, a deeper understanding of the key compounds that distinguish fuels that otherwise visually seem very similar provides insight into their physical and thermal property differences.

Using solid phase extraction followed by GC×GC-TOFMS to target polar compounds in aviation fuels

Fall 2022 abstracts, posters, and presentations will launch in mid-September.

ACS Fall 2022

The official archive and repository for all ACS Meetings & Expositions abstracts and select posters or presentations.