Analysis of nitro-polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in conventional diesel and Fischer-Tropsch diesel fuel emissions using electron monochromator-mass spectrometry.

The presence of nitro-polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (NPAHs) in diesel fuel emissions has been studied for a number of years predominantly because of their contribution to the overall health and environmental risks associated with these emissions. Electron monochromator-mass spectrometry (EM-MS) is a highly selective and sensitive method for detection of NPAHs in complex matrixes, such as diesel emissions. Here, EM-MS was used to compare the levels of NPAHs in fuel emissions from conventional (petroleum) diesel, ultra-low sulfur/low-aromatic content diesel, Fischer-Tropsch synthetic diesel, and conventional diesel/synthetic diesel blend. The largest quantities of NPAHs were detected in the conventional diesel fuel emissions, while the ultra-low sulfur diesel and synthetic diesel fuel demonstrated a more than 50% reduction of NPAH quantities when compared to the conventional diesel fuel emissions. The emissions from the blend of conventional diesel with 30% synthetic diesel fuel also demonstrated a more than 30% reduction of the NPAH content when compared to the conventional diesel fuel emissions. In addition, a correlation was made between the aromatic content of the different fuel types and NPAH quantities and between the nitrogen oxides emissions from the different fuel types and NPAH quantities. The EM-MS system demonstrated high selectivity and sensitivity for detection of the NPAHs in the emissions with minimal sample cleanup required.