scope:

This method is for determining total arsenic in heavy hydrocarbons by microwave digestion and graphite furnace atomic absorption spectroscopy (GF-AAS). The lower limit of quantitation for arsenic is 50 ng/g (mass-ppb).

Sample preparation by conventional extraction and digestion, such as that used in UOP Method 946, Arsenic in Petroleum Naphthas by HG-AAS, is problematic for high-boiling samples as it is possible for arsenic to be volatilized at the extreme sample preparation conditions required for the high boiling samples. Microwave digestion does not require these extreme conditions and also requires less operator attention during sample preparation.