MONITORING THE PHOTOOXIDATION OF CRUDE OIL BY A GAS CHROMATOGRAPHY-MASS SPECTROMETRY SYSTEM: EXTRACTED ION CURRENT PROFILES OF DIBENZOTHIOPHENES AND THEIR SULFOXIDES.

Analytical methods used to detect, monitor and elucidate the photooxidation of crude oil include infrared and ultraviolet spectroscopy. These techniques are suitable for obtaining primary indications of oxygenated products, but cannot distinguish single compounds in trace amounts from complex mixtures. High resolution GC-MS is found to be a potential tool for good separation and identification of individual compounds by retention time comparison and mass spectral analyses. Extended abstract.