Thermo Scientific ARL QUANT’X, a versatile analyzer and reliable trouble shooting tool for the petrochemical scientist

Bench top sized versatility

Energy-Dispersive X-Ray Fluorescence (EDXRF) systems such as the bench top Thermo Scientific ARL QUANT’X EDXRF analyzer are well established in the petrochemical industry. A common application is the determination of sulfur in oil at concentrations in the lower ppm range. However, the ARL QUANT’X has much more to offer than sulfur analysis.

As the ARL QUANT’X is equipped with a 3 mm thick Si(Li) solid-state detector it is particularly sensitive to heavier atomic number elements such as Zn, Mo, Ba and Pb, extending its range into applications where much thinner drift detectors commonly suffer from reduced sensitivities. Detection limits for elements heavier than Sc (Z=21) are in the lower and sub ppm range which is normally only attainable with high power wavelength-dispersive X-ray fluorescence (WDXRF) instruments.

Typical applications involving these heavier elements are:

• Determination of lead in gasoline (ASTM D5059)
• Quality control of additive concentrations in lube oil (ASTM D6443)
• Heavy metals in polymers (ASTM F2617)
• Contamination of marine fuel by seawater (ISO 15597)
• Monitoring wear metals in lube oil (ASTM D4927, ISO 14597)
• Precious metal (Pt, Pd) content of catalysts

Although most of the international standards are written for WDXRF instruments, the ARL QUANT’X EDXRF analyzer can often serve as a lower cost alternative or as a back-up instrument. Due to its compact size, few moving parts and robust build, the ARL QUANT’X requires little maintenance and does not depend on auxiliary facilities such as a water chiller or P10 detector gas; a wall socket is all what’s required.

The following key performance points allow the ARL QUANT’X to provide full coverage of all elements, from Na to U with virtually no sample preparation:

• A sensitive, electrically (Peltier) cooled Si(Li) detector
• A low power 50 Watt end window X-ray tube offering virtually unlimited combination of excitation voltages (4-50 kV)
• Up to 8 primary beam filters for optimal background control and improved elemental sensitivity
• Air, vacuum or helium environment
• User-friendly and powerful WinTrace software

Trouble shooting tool

The standardless fundamental parameters package UniQuant® is now also available for the ARL QUANT’X. This semi-quantitative package turns the ARL QUANT’X into a versatile problem solving tool. Often, the central laboratory of a petrochemical plant also acts as an analytical service whenever non-routine samples related to issues on the plant site have to be analyzed. Analysis of totally unknown samples for which any calibration standards are lacking can be troublesome. With UniQuant such samples are analyzed within a matter of minutes rendering reliable results.

As such, next to routine analysis applications the ARL QUANT’X also becomes a reliable trouble shooting tool in any petrochemical plant.

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