A NEW NORTH-SEA OIL-BASED STANDARD FOR IATROSCAN ANALYSIS

The TLC-FID technique using the latroscan is a fast and cost-effective way to obtain quantitative data on the composition of crude oils and solvent extracts of rocks. However, its accuracy depends on correct ca libration of the instrument using standards based on crude oil, since the use of synthetic standards had resulted in erroneous response fact ors. In the present study, a North Sea deasphaltened oil from the Oseb erg held (NSO-1) was fingerprinted and separated into saturated hydroc arbons, aromatic hydrocarbons and polars on a large scale, using prepa rative TLC. These fractions were later mixed to provide a standard, wh ich was used to calibrate Iatroscan and monitor the responses of the i ndividual fractions. This standard has been shown to be stable for rou tine use and will, if adopted, render inter-laboratory data comparison s more reliable. (C) 1997 Elsevier Science Ltd.