Thermogravimetric isolation and chromatographic characterization of volatile fractions of petroleum

Petroleum samples were analyzed by TG between 25–600°C. Mass loss was observed up to 500°C. The volatile fraction of petroleum samples in the range of 25–150°C were recovered by bubbling the outgoing gaseous products of the TG experiments in dichloromethane. Each volatile fraction obtained was analyzed by HRGC-MS for identification and quantification of the major components. Following this procedure the classification of the petroleum samples were done according to the obtained mass losses between 25–150°C (which varied from 1.76 to 21.89%) and according to their normal paraffin, aromatic and naphthene contents.