New Application of Solid-phase Microextraction (SPME) in Analyzing Volatile Hydrocarbons (C1–C9) in Natural Gas | Chapter 3 | Current Research and Development in Chemistry Vol.1
Solid-phase microextraction (SPME) coupled with gas chromatography-isotope ratio mass spectrometry (GC-IRMS) has already been applied to collect and identify volatile light hydrocarbons in oil and source rocks. However, this technology has not yet been used to analyze volatile light hydrocarbons in dry gas (natural gas with C1/C2+>95%). In this study, we developed a method to measure the molecular and carbon isotope composition of natural gas using Divinylbenzene/ Carboxen/Polydimethylsiloxane (DVB/CAR/PDMS) fiber. This fiber proved to be suitable for extracting C1–C9 hydrocarbons from natural gas without inducing carbon isotopic fractionation. Notably, the extraction coefficients of the analytes were not the same, but rather increased with the increasing carbon number of the hydrocarbons. Nevertheless, we successfully identified 24 hydrocarbons from the in-lab standard natural gas, while also obtaining the carbon isotope composition of C1 to C9 hydrocarbons with satisfying re...