VALIDATION OF ANALYTICAL METHOD FOR BENZYL ALCOHOL COMPOUNDS IN OIL PRODUCTION WATER SAMPLES USING GAS CHROMATOGRAPHY-MASS SPECTROMETRY

Abstract

In this study, a procedure to simultaneously analyze three benzyl alcohol compounds including 2
fluorobenzyl alcohol (2-FBOH), 2,6-dichorobenzyl alcohol (2,6-DClBOH) and 3,4-difluorobenzyl alcohol
(3,4-DFBOH) in produced water samples was developed for the application in a partitioning inter-well
tracer test to determine residual oil saturation (Sor) in oilfield production. The sample was passed through a
solid phase extraction column, then the column was dried under vacuum and flushed with 5 mL of
acetonitrile. The obtained acetonotrile extract was measured on a gas chromatography-mass spectrometrer
(GC-MS). The analytical method met AOAC requirements for detectability, recovery and repeatability.
Depending on each benzyl alcohol compound, the limit of detection (LOD) of the method was in the range of
7 - 10 µg/L, the limit of quantification ( LOQ) ranges from 24 to 32 µg /L, recovery was achieved from 90 to
110% and the relative deviation values of (RSD) was below 9%.