Detection and quantitation of ACCUTRACE™ S10, a new fiscal marker used in low duty fuels using a novel ultra-high performance supercritical fluid chromatography – mass spectrometry approach

Abstract

A new ultra-high performance supercritical fluid chromatography – mass spectrometry (UHPSFC-MS) method has been developed using electrospray ionisation (ESI) to detect and quantify a new fiscal fuel marker, ACCUTRACE™ S10 that was introduced into fuel in the UK and Ireland from April 1st 2015. S10 is synthesised by the Dow Chemical Company and is used as a replacement for UV-visible fuel markers, such as quinizarin, Euromarker and Solvent Red 24. It is UV invisible, is doped at a low level (2.5 ppm) and was designed for detection using modern gas chromatography – mass spectrometry (GC-MS) instrumentation. All currently proposed methods for the determination of ACCUTRACE™ S10 fuel marker in diesel fuel [automotive diesel oil, current specifications EN 590 and U.S. ASTM D975] use gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS), and 2-dimensional GC-MS (2-D GC-MS) is necessary to detect the marker at tank dilutions. However the lower limit of detection (LLOD) and lower limit of quantification (LLOQ) for S10 are severely compromised using legacy GC-MS instrumentation and measurement at tank dilutions is not feasible. ACCUTRACE™ S10 exhibited unusual ionisation characteristics when analysed by atmospheric pressure ionisation techniques, the ionisation is modelled and discussed and the strong ionisation response utilised to develop a new approach to detection and quantitation of the new fuel maker. The novel UHPSFC-MS method utilises this phenomenon, allows injection of undiluted fuels and affords detection and quantitation at doping and tank dilution levels.

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Identifiers

ORCID for G. John Langley: orcid.org/0000-0002-8323-7235

ORCID for Julie M. Herniman: orcid.org/0000-0003-4834-1093

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