Shimadzu Hydrocarbon Processing Industry

Significance of the Topic

The hydrocarbon processing industry underpins energy production, petrochemicals, and downstream manufacturing. Precise analytical methods are essential for product quality, environmental compliance, and process efficiency. Shimadzu’s integrated solutions address these demands by offering robust instrumentation, standardized methods, and comprehensive data management.

Objectives and Overview of the Study

This application note reviews Shimadzu’s portfolio for the hydrocarbon processing industry, demonstrating how its instruments and software support upstream exploration through downstream product specification. The goal is to illustrate capabilities across diverse analyses including gas composition, simulated distillation, trace contaminants, and elemental profiling.

Methodology

Shimadzu methods conform to international standards such as ASTM, ISO, UOP, GPA, and IP. Techniques include:

• Gas chromatography (GC) with specialized detectors (PFPD, PDHID, SCD) for natural gas, refinery gas, LPG, detailed hydrocarbon and PIONA analyses.
• High-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC), including VUV PIONA+ and oxygenate quantification.
• Thermal desorption and headspace sampling coupled with GC-MS for VOCs and transformer oil gases.
• Elemental analysis via ICP-MS, ICPE, AAS, and EDX for trace metals and sulfur determination.
• Spectroscopic techniques: FTIR for biodiesel and TPH, UV-Vis for fuel oils, spectrofluorophotometry for coumarin and oil-in-water.
• Thermal analysis (DSC, TGA, TMA) and particle size distribution for polymer and petrochemical characterization.
• TOC analyzers for water quality on-line and off-line.

Instrumentation Used

• Nexis GC-2030 series with FID, FPD, SCD, BID, PDHID
• VUV detector (VGA-100) and high-speed GC columns
• HPLC and UHPLC systems with PDA and VUV detectors
• GC-MS and LC-MS/MS platforms with headspace, thermal desorption, and P&T accessories
• ICP-MS and ICPE spectrometers with collision/reaction cell technology
• AAS with 3D double-beam optics and background correction
• EDX X-ray fluorescence spectrometer
• FTIR spectrophotometer with dedicated oil-in-water methods
• UV-Vis spectrophotometer for color and transmittance analysis
• Thermal analyzers (DSC, TGA, TMA) for polymer thermal profiling
• Spectrofluorophotometer with 3D scanning fluorescence capabilities
• TOC analyzers (combustion and catalytic oxidation) and on-line TOC monitoring
• Particle size analyzer with broad range and high concentration capability
• LabSolutions software suite for instrument control, data acquisition, regulatory compliance, and networked laboratory management

Main Results and Discussion

Shimadzu’s systems deliver rapid analysis times (e.g., sub-6 min for refinery gas, 30 min for PIONA), sub-ppb sensitivity for sulfur and moisture in LPG, and high reproducibility for simulated distillation of crude oil. Detector combinations and advanced columns provide selective separation and quantitation of targeted analytes while maintaining long-term stability and linearity across extended runtimes.

Benefits and Practical Applications

• High throughput supports real-time process control and quality assurance in refineries and petrochemical plants.
• Compliance with global standards ensures regulatory acceptance and comparability across facilities.
• Modular GC/LC configurations and third-party detector support enable method flexibility and future upgrades.
• Networked data management with LabSolutions enhances data integrity, traceability, and secure audit trails.

Future Trends and Opportunities

Advancements include integration of vacuum UV detection for expanded chemical fingerprinting, AI-driven predictive maintenance of instruments, real-time on-line analytics for process optimization, and enhanced coupling of MS and spectroscopic techniques. The move toward lab-automation and cloud-based data platforms will further streamline workflows and enable cross-site benchmarking.

Conclusion

Shimadzu offers a comprehensive ecosystem of analytical tools and software tailored to the hydrocarbon processing industry. By combining standardized methodologies, high-performance instrumentation, and integrated data solutions, laboratories can achieve reliable results, regulatory compliance, and operational efficiency.

References

Cited methods and standards include ASTM, ISO, UOP, and GPA protocols as applied throughout the text.