Ethanol as a fuel is made by fermenting and then distilling starch and sugar crops and is now a well established process that can provide a high performance motor fuel
Ethanol is predominantly consumed as vehicular fuel both in the anhydrous form - where it is mixed with gasoline to enhance the octane number and act as an anti knocking agent - or in the hydrated form where it is present as 94% ethanol.
With global warming very much at the top of the environmental agenda, ethanol is a much cleaner fuel than petrol (or gasoline) and most of the major car manufacturers are developing and further optimizing this type of green technology.
As ethanol is not a fossil fuel, its manufacture and subsequent use of does not contribute to the greenhouse effect, ethanol blends can be used in petrol engines (usually) without modification, it is biodegradable without harmful effects on the environment reducing both emissions of hydrocarbons and volatile organic compounds.
Should the ethanol fuel become contaminated with metal ions such as lithium, sodium, ammonium, potassium, calcium and magnesium, then this can affect the engine performance since the salts and sediments formed can block nozzles and induce corrosion in the vehicle components that come into contact with the fuel.
Ion chromatography (IC) from Metrohm can be used to reliably and quickly ensure that there is no infection of the fuel with metal contaminants using a fully automated system setup that can be operated by semi skilled personnel.
An important advantage of the Metrohm IC instruments is the use of Metrohm Inline Sample Preparation (MISP) whereby the interfering sample matrix is removed automatically with no manual sample pretreatment necessary.
The calibration is carried out in the same manner and all standards are matrix matched.
The Metrohm ethos of flexibility means that customers' own sample vials or bottles can be used on the custom racks to minimise any contamination from handling of the sample.
A typical instrument configuration would be the Metrohm MIC 1 Advanced Modular IC System with 838 Advanced Sample Processor.
The Metrohm IC instruments work without chemical suppression for cation analysis - another key advantage as this would lead to the formation of hydroxides causing precipitation on the membrane over time - with no costly replacement of suppressors required to ensure that the ongoing running costs of the IC system are minimal.
Sixty years of pioneering experience in Ion Analysis and two decades of outstanding development in Ion Chromatography ensure that the reliability and robustness of the instrument are assured, the quality and design of the Metrohm pump and detector help ensure the lowest detection limits are possible.
