Let us help you determine the extent and nature of your petroleum hydrocarbon contamination

Hydrocarbons are ubiquitous pollutants in nature, contaminating soil, water and air. Petroleum hydrocarbons can occur naturally or as the result of human activity, for example as products derived from the use of petroleum, coal, shale and oil.

Petroleum hydrocarbons consist of compounds formed mainly from carbon and hydrogen. They generally exist in the environment as complex mixtures known as hydrocarbon fractions. Each fraction can contain many hundreds of individual compounds, with each fraction demonstrating its own unique character.

In order to assess the nature of petroleum hydrocarbon contamination it is necessary to first get a clear idea of the type of fractions of which it is comprised. There are a variety of methods carried out at Chemex to allow one to obtain information on the presence and nature of petroleum hydrocarbon contamination. Appropriate method selection will depend upon what information is required.

Here at Chemex there are a variety of methods available to allow you to choose the one most appropriate to your requirements. The following links will take you to the method summary page for each individual method

Diesel Range Organics
Total Aliphatic and Aromatic Petroleum Hydrocarbons
Total Petroleum Hydrocarbons
Extractable and Volatile Petroleum Hydrocarbons

It is also possible to determine the presence of Benzene, Toluene, Ethyl Benzene and Xylenes (BTEX) by Headspace GC-PID or by Purge and Trap GC-MS. These are common indicators of the presence of gasoline. Tertiary Butyl Methyl Ether (TBME) is another compound that can be determined along with the BTEX compounds. This has often been used as an additive in petrol to replace tetra ethyl lead, increasing the octane rating of the fuel, and as an anti knocking agent.