P.E. Analytical News The problem: to get samples of this water uncontaminated by drilling muds. Ways are being worked out, and the Flame Photometer will figure prominently in analyzing the water.
GAS, OIL AND THE VAPOR FRACTOMETER
WAVELENGTH [MICRONS)
Infrared Spectra for 2,4-D and 2,4,5-T
by the electrical characteristics of the materials through which the well is drilled. Unfortunately, mud can make a mess of the picture. The mud in this case is drilling mud, essential as lubricant and coolant for the drill bit, and containing salts and other electrolytes which can throw electrical measurements of strata all out of kilter.
YOU CAN'T TELL 2,4-D FROM 2,4,5-T WITHOUT IR ANALYSIS The commonest herbicides in use today bear the names 2,4-Dichlorophenoxyacetic acid esters and 2,4,5Trichlorophenoxyacetic acid esters— which don't sound at all common to us, but that's the price we pay for increased weed-killing power. The toxicity of sprays prepared from these two types of materials depends on the concentration of active ingredient, and so the sprays must be analyzed for percent activity when purchased. Infrared does the job rapidly and accurately. It gives positive identification of the esters of 2,4-D and 2,4,5-T. a difficult task since these materials differ only by the replacement of one hydrogen with a chlorine atom on the benzene ring. And it tells exactly how much you have of the component of interest in any formulation. As an example, five barrels of the same brand of 2,4,5-T were inspected for conformity to purchasing requirements with a Perkin-Elmer Model 21 infrared spectrophotometer. The spectra showed that four barrels contained the specified 2,4,5-T concentrations, whereas one barrel was contaminated with a significant amount of the 2,4-D compound. Infrared definitely established that the product was below the purchasing r e q u i r e m e n t s , and s i m u l t a n e o u s l y identified the contaminant and permitted a determination of its concentration. Time required for inspection by the Model 21 was one-tenth that required for the usual wet chemical method, which gives only an approximate analysis.
The muds must be analyzed for sodium, potassium, magnesium and calcium ions so that their electrical effects can be corrected for, and a true picture of the geological structure obtained. This is where the Perkin-Elmer Model 146 Flame Photometer has been of great help. Filtrates pressed from the muds are fed directly into the "flame", with or without dilution depending on the expected ion concentration. Accurate results are obtained in minutes. The method is considered far superior to wet chemical analyses used before. Still in the development stage is another application for P-E's new "flame" in oil well studies. Subterranean water held in the rock formations contain salts, hydrocarbons and other materials which tell a great deal about the oil-producing possibilities of the bed rock formation.
MUD, OIL AND THE FLAME If you want to know something about the geological structure of an oil well, a remarkably accurate picture is given We'll be glad to send you more information a quarterly published
by P-E to further
Where the Flame Photometer is used to determine the concentration of electrolytes in drilling mud filtrates and subterranean waters, P-E's Model 154 Vapor Fractometer — employing the principals of gas chromatography — aids in the exploration and evaluation of possible oil well sites by measuring the hydrocarbon content of the return mud stream or cuttings. These measurements tell ( 1 ) whether or not the well is capable of producing gas or oil and (2) which it will yield when completed.
Unlike the "hot-wire" detectors much in use, the Vapor Fractometer offers exact quantitative and qualitative analyses of each component encountered, rather than a lump "total combustibles" figure. And it has roughly 100 times the sensitivity of the conventional hot-wire method. The Vapor Fractometer is less expensive than infrared and mass spectrophotometric methods, and can easily withstand the rigors of prolonged field service because of its extreme operating simplicity and rugged design. Data presentation is straightforward and in most cases linear with concentration. The instrument first separates the components and then measures them — automatically. Along with P-E's Flame Photometer, the Vapor Fractometer is reducing the gamble in oil and gas exploration, and substituting skill instead.
Perkin-Elmer Corporation 800 Main Avenue, Norwalk, Conn,
on any of these items. Or to put you on the mailing
research,
material
analysis
list for INSTRUMENT NEWS,
a n d producfion through electro-optical
instrumentation.
For further information, circle numbers 32A-1, 32 A-2, 32 A-3 en Readers' Service Card, page 51 A
32 A
ANALYTICAL
CHEMISTRY
