Water Hydrocarbon Testing

Petroleum hydrocarbons are raw materials for a wide variety of products, from fuels to solvents to many chemicals used in industrial processes. Such organic pollutants can leak down drains, or worse, dlirectly into the environment. The abnormal concentration of hydrocarbons and their derivatives in the water environment will lead to the deterioration of the quality of the water environment, further endanger the survival of aquatic organisms, and threaten the health of human and animal water pollution. Therefore, detecting hydrocarbons in water is essential to give early warning when problems arise.

As your water experts, BOC Sciences offers the determination of hydrocarbons in water samples to analyze the concentration of hydrocarbons and ensure compliance with regulatory guidelines. Whenever customers need help, we can provide solutions.

Fig. 1 The fate of petroleum hydrocarbons in water/sea.^[1]

Test Items

Our detection range covers a wide range of hydrocarbons including BTEX, normal alkanes, and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), more specifically:

• Benzene
• Xylene
• n-Decane
• Toluene
• n-Hexane
• Naphthalene
• Ethylbenzene
• n-Octane
• 1-Methylnaphthalene
• 2-Methylnaphthalene
• Pyrene
• Indeno(1,2,3-cd)pyrene
• Acenaphthene
• Benzo(a)anthracene
• Dibenzo(a,h)anthracene
• Acenaphthylene
• Chrysene
• Benzo(g,h,i)perylene
• Fluorene
• Benzo(b)fluoranthene
• Benzo(e)pyren
• Phenanthrene
• Benzo(k)fluoranthene
• Cyclopenta(c,d)pyrene
• Anthracene
• Benzo(j)fluoranthene
• Dibenzo(a,e)pyrene
• Fluoranthene
• Benzo(a)pyrene
• Dibenzo(a,h)pyrene

Testing Services

Water quality evaluation

The water quality composition of the treatment system is monitored for the following components: TPH; oils and greases; COD; DO; pH; temperature; and MLSS. Fingerprinting and Characterization of Oil Samples by Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry. This method also provides maximum chemical information on saturated and aromatic hydrocarbons with minimal sample clean-up requirements.

Aromatic Hydrocarbons (BTEX) Analysis

Since aromatics are easily removed from water during activated sludge treatment, their collective concentrations were determined separately from n-alkanes and TPH to obtain information on their elimination during on-site product water treatment. Quantification of aromatic hydrocarbons was performed by running a series of total BTEX concentration standard mixtures, from which a re-reaction curve was derived. The aromatics content of the produced water is then compared to this BTEX standard to obtain the appropriate concentration.

Total Petroleum Hydrocarbons TPH Analysis

Infrared IR spectrophotometry was used to determine the total recoverable petroleum hydrocarbons in the test water. The TPH concentration of produced water will be affected by factors such as oil-water separation technology used, salt concentration, storage residence time, biological activity, homogeneity of hydrocarbon water sample and BTEX concentration. Quantification of product water TPH is based on comparison with a standard calibration curve.

Why are they important?

Hydrocarbons are one of the common environmental pollutants in water and soil. Hydrocarbons can diffuse into natural waters through spills, surface runoff, industrial discharges, and wet and dry deposition. Common health and economic concerns they pose include potential teratogenic, carcinogenic, and mutagenic effects, all of which increase the risk of cancer in exposed populations. Various national agencies have established tolerable levels for hydrocarbon fractions in drinking water. The Environmental Protection Agency has identified as many as 16 PAHs as highly toxic and carcinogenic.

BOC Sciences uses well-used methods and equipment to realize the monitoring of hydrocarbons, and can also use physical, chemical and biological techniques to treat water sources contaminated by hydrocarbons, and some methods can remove up to 99%.