VIRTUAL PEFTEC 2021 - A GREAT SUCCESS GLOBALLY


PEFTEC 2021 ran on 24th and 25th November as a completely virtual event, but organiser Marcus Pattision says: “It was a great success. Naturally, we were disappointed not to operate the physical conferences and exhibitions that we have run in the past, but as a virtual event PEFTEC 2021 offered a number of important advantages.


“Registered participants were able to log in free of charge, from the convenience of their home or offi ce, without the cost or inconvenience of travel or accommodation. As a result, the number of attendees was more than double the usual number, with participants from 95 countries. However, the presentations have all been recorded, and are still available by registering at www.peftec.com.”


The PEFTEC events began in 2015, offering participants a unique opportunity to focus on the latest research, technologies, techniques, methods, standards and regulations relating to monitoring and analysis within the Petroleum, Petrochemical, Chemical and Refi ning industries. Visitors to the events have been able to join conferences and seminars, and meet some of the world’s leading providers of technology and testing services at the events’ exhibitions. The main objective for the 2021 event was therefore to offer the same facilities in an online format.


Two conferences were available at the virtual PEFTEC 2021 event; one focusing on Process Monitoring, and the other on Laboratory Analysis.


PEFTEC Process Monitoring Conference


This session was chaired by Dr Edo Becker, who said: “The key issues addressed by these sessions included sustainability, new Process Analytical Technology (PAT), robust sampling techniques, how PAT can help to achieve carbon-footprint reduction, smart sensors, catalyst development and process operation.” He added: “Participation by the virtual attendees was excellent with high levels of interest being shown in PAT trends, networking and ideas for new research subjects.”


The fi rst session focused on the use of PAT and soft sensors, providing an insight into the latest research. This was followed by a description of the requirements to set up a robust sampling and GC analysis program to provide real time optimisation data for plant control. One speaker explained why traditional on-line GCs provide much greater fl exibility, control and sensitivity than miniaturised instruments.


Hydrogen can be utilised for fuel cell applications and an explanation was provided on how to ensure the quality of hydrogen, and how these new technologies will be incorporated. Industry standards were also discussed and the importance of this issue was addressed in relation to the fi ght against climate change.


In the fi eld of catalyst research, spectroscopic technologies can help to speed up the development and design of new types of catalyst by investigating their microscopic properties both on-line and in-situ. These feed directly into the next stage of process development in a pilot plant study.


Smart sensors can be easily installed and provide new ways of gathering information on hazardous chemical process streams. They can act independently and talk to the control system via advanced communication protocols for more effi cient plant control and optimisation.


Pilot plant operation was also discussed, with an explanation of the ways in which on-line GCs can help to understand by-product formation and catalyst activity. For example, new smart ways have been found to set-up classical laboratory instruments for continuous operation.


Several of the speakers said that PAT can help to achieve the sustainability targets of processing companies by reducing energy costs and the amount of by-products from a chemical process. PAT engineers should therefore promote this within their companies and provide evidence of savings both in costs and carbon footprint. PAT can help refi neries in many ways; helping to optimise processes, better understand feedstocks and improve the effi ciency of refi nery planning.


PEFTEC Analytical Conference


Explaining the key features of the 2021 conference Anupam Giri from SABIC said: “This year particular emphasis has been given to environmental issues such as recycling and renewables. The subjects being addressed include broad aspects of analytical challenges in petroleomics covering separation science, spectroscopy, thermal and elemental analysis, as well as innovative and high-throughput processes for recycling. In addition, a short-course on GC×GC will be conducted to introduce this powerful separation tool to the beginners; highlighting the fundamentals as well as applications on exploring the petro-chemistry. The program will allow ‘Industry- Institute-Individuals-Interaction’ in this fi eld to learn about the latest updates, developments and future needs from each other.”


The fi rst session (Two-Dimensional GC) was chaired by Frank David from the Research Institute of Chromatography (RIC) in Belgium. This started with a keynote presentation by Prof. Philip Marriott from Monash University in Australia, who described new approaches to overall sample ‘global profi ling’, with strategies to


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provide a best-case separation goal. These are based on well- established multidimensional gas chromatography (MDGC), and newer comprehensive GC×GC methods. The role of these tools for discovery and improved characterisation were described.


Gas oils quantitative analysis by GC×GC FID was then discussed with the introduction of the VUV detector providing new possibilities with its ability to discern between the majority of hydrocarbon families.


A study was then described in which the composition of dodecene products produced from different feedstocks and catalysts was investigated by applying GC×GC coupled with photoionisation (PI) and TOFMS.


The analysis of heavy constituents in petrochemical products remains a challenging task due to low volatility making them inaccessible for gas chromatography; and low solubility making them unsuitable for liquid chromatography. To minimise fragmentation, pyrolysis GC×GC was coupled to PI high-resolution mass spectrometry. Low energy PI yielded enhanced sensitivity and selectivity as a result of the dramatic reduction in fragmentation, as well as providing an increase in the number of compounds identifi ed. High-resolution MS combined with soft PI was found to be extremely useful.


The next session on Mass Spectrometry was chaired by Dr. Christopher Rüger from the University of Rostock in Germany. The fi rst speaker explained the importance of pyrolysis in the recycling of solid plastic waste (SPW), however the chemical nature of pyrolysis char is not fully understood, but has potential in material science e.g. batteries, catalysis, water purifi cation or to generate further chemicals. The speaker explained how a comprehensive set of thermal analysis mass spectrometric platforms enabled an in-depth chemical description of plastic pyrolysis char; providing valuable information for reactor design.


Direct Analysis in Real Time (DART) mass spectrometry was then described with examples showing how GC×GC-MS did not reveal any differences between similar but different age samples, whereas negative-ion DART showed distinctly different mass spectra.


In the fi nal presentation of the session, the application of Fourier- Transform Ion Cyclotron Resonance Mass Spectrometry (FTICR) in Pyrolysis oil produced from plastic waste materials was described.


After lunch, Dr Edo Becker chaired a session on Thermal and Elemental


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