Can crude oils be distinguished by different component distribution obtained by laser desorption ionization mass spectrometry and evaluated by chemometrics?

Fourteen different crude oil samples were analyzed as collected by mass spectrometry. For two of them the results obtained by means of different techniques, i.e. electrospray ionization, atmospheric pressure chemical ionization, laser desorption/ionization, were compared. The latter technique leads to the best results: even if unable to give specific information on heteroatom‐containing components, it allows a general view to be obtained of the panorama of the oil composition in terms of molecular weight distribution. The statistical evaluation of the mass spectrometry data by multivariate techniques, such as cluster analysis (Average Linkage) and correspondence analysis, allows evidence for the differences and similarities among the crude oils under study. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.