PREDICTION OF REFORMATE RESEARCH OCTANE NUMBER BY FT-IR SPECTROSCOPY

Fourier transform infrared (FT-i.r.) spectroscopy was used to calculat e the research octane number (RON) of naphtha feed and reformate durin g the course of performance evaluation of reforming catalysts. Five ab sorption regions that correspond to aliphatic and aromatic bands withi n the mid-infrared region were utilized for developing the correlation for RON estimation. Statistical methods were used to derive third deg ree polynomial equations which could give a better estimate of engine Ron. The technique was found to give excellent correlation (R(2) = 0.9 5) with the engine RON data.