CHARACTERIZATION OF CRUDE OIL BY FOURIER TRANSFORM ION CYCLOTRON RESONANCE MASS SPECTROMETRY

1 . A system for determining indicative properties of gasoline and gas oil fractions of crude oil, based upon Fourier transform ion cyclotron resonance mass spectrometry (FT-ICR MS) data derived from the corresponding crude oil and the density of the sample, the system comprising:

a non-volatile memory device that stores calculation modules and data;

a processor coupled to the memory;

a first calculation module that calculates the carbon numbers, double bond equivalents and intensities of the gas oil fraction from the FT-ICR MS data;

a second calculation module that derives the cetane number for the gas oil fraction as a function of the FT-ICR MS peak intensity and density of the sample;

a third calculation module that derives the pour point for the gas oil fraction as a function of the FT-ICR MS peak intensity and density of the sample;

a fourth calculation module that derives the cloud point for the gas oil fraction as a function of the FT-ICR MS peak intensity and density of the sample;

a fifth calculation module that derives the aniline point for the gas oil fraction as a function of the FT-ICR MS peak intensity and density of the sample; and

a sixth calculation module that derives the octane number for the gasoline fraction as a function of the FT-ICR MS peak intensity and density of the sample.

2 . The system of claim 1 , wherein the gas oil boils in the nominal range 180° C.-370° C.

3 . The system of claim 1 , wherein the gasoline boils in the nominal range 36° C.-180° C.

4 . The system of claim 1 , wherein the masses covered by FT-ICR MS are in the range 150-1400 m/z.

5 . The system of claim 1 , wherein the carbon numbers detected by FT-ICR MS are in the range 1-60.

6 . The system of claim 1 , wherein the double bond equivalence calculated by FT-ICR MS are in the range 1-40.

7 . A method for operating a computer to determine indicative properties of gasoline and gas oil fractions of crude oil based upon a sample of the crude oil taken from an oil well, stabilizer, extractor, or distillation tower, the method comprising:

obtaining the density of the crude oil sample;

preparing the crude oil sample for Fourier transform ion cyclotron resonance mass spectrometry (FT-ICR MS) analysis;

obtaining spectra data for the crude oil sample by a FT-TCR MS analysis;

entering into the computer mass spectral data obtained by FT-ICR MS analysis of the crude oil sample;

calculating FT-ICR MS peak intensities of the gas oil fraction from the FT-ICR MS spectral data;

calculating the cetane number for the gas oil fraction as a function of the FT-ICR MS

calculating the pour point for the gas oil fraction as a function of the FT-ICR MS peak intensities and density of the sample;

calculating the cloud point for the gas oil fraction as a function of the FT-ICR MS peak intensity and density of the sample;

calculating the aniline point for the gas oil fraction as a function of the FT-ICR MS peak intensities and density of the sample; and

calculating the octane number for the gasoline fraction as a function of the FT-TCR MS peak intensity and density of the sample.

8 . A computer program product to determine indicative properties of gasoline and gas oil fractions of crude oil based upon a sample of the crude oil taken from an oil well, stabilizer, extractor, or distillation tower, comprising a non-transitory computer readable medium having computer readable program code embodied therein that, when executed by a processor, causes the processor to:

accept the value of the density of the crude oil sample;

accept mass spectral data obtained by Fourier transform ion cyclotron resonance mass spectrometry (FT-ICR MS) analysis of the crude oil sample;

calculate FT-ICR MS peak intensities of the gas oil fraction from the FT-ICR MS spectral data;

calculate the cetane number for the gas oil fraction as a function of the FT-ICR MS peak intensities and density of the sample;

calculate the pour point for the gas oil fraction as a function of the FT-ICR MS peak intensities and density of the sample;

calculate the cloud point for the gas oil fraction as a function of the FT-ICR MS peak intensity and density of the sample;

calculate the aniline point for the gas oil fraction as a function of the FT-ICR MS peak intensities and density of the sample;

calculate the octane number for the gasoline fraction as a function of the FT-ICR MS peak intensity and density of the sample; and

display the calculated results and/or store the calculated results into memory.