Comparison of hypercrosslinked polystyrene columns for the separation of nitrogen group-types in petroleum using High Performance Liquid Chromatography

High performance liquid chromatography in a quasi-normal phase mode (QNP) is used to separate the nitrogen group-types (pyrrole and pyridine) that are found in petroleum. A new type of stationary phase, hypercrosslinked polystyrene, is used to achieve this separation. Three different hypercrosslinked polystyrene stationary phases are compared under quasi-normal phase mode; a commercial 5-HGN packing, and two hypercrosslinked phases on silica particles. The utility of the columns for petroleum-based separations was explored with the use of 21 analytical standards. Partial elucidation of adsorption retention mechanisms for the columns are shown, as well as a comparison of retention characteristics for the three columns. The silica particle column derived with toluene (HC-Tol) was found to have the best selectivity for nitrogen group-types and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), attaining a separation under gradient conditions in less than 30 min.