Free biodiesel webinar May 22 on advanced elemental analysis

Biodiesel Magazine is holding a free webinar May 22 titled “New Advances in Detection Technology for Biodiesel Impurities.” The webinar, the latest in the Biodiesel Magazine Webinar Series, is sponsored by Spectro Analytical Instruments.

Biodiesel fuel quality has never been more important considering the industry’s increased reliance on lower-quality feedstocks, new diesel technologies requiring ultra-low concentrations of fuel impurities, tightening fuel specifications and bulk buyers implementing even lower thresholds of their own. Likewise, the ability to accurately and consistently detect trace concentrations of critical elements is paramount to supplying high-quality fuel the marketplace demands.

Advanced elemental analysis using inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectrometry (ICP-OES) and X-ray fluorescence (XRF) technology for the determination of trace elements in biodiesel, such as phosphorus, calcium, sodium, magnesium, potassium, sulfur and more, will be discussed in-depth by two leading analytical experts from Spectro Analytical Instruments. New advances in these technologies offer distinct advantages in elemental analysis, including making it easier to analyze trace amounts of regulated elements and the ability to check oxygen content to prove the fuel is biogenic. In addition, the speakers will discuss how new ICP technology increases sample throughput and can reduce cost of ownership; multi-element determination capability; and new instrument technology yielding large linear dynamic range, excellent stability and enhanced sensitivity.

Presenters include Meredith Daniel-Prowse, an applications scientist for Spectro Analytical Instruments’ XRF spectroscopy product line, and Olaf Schulz, Spectro’s product manager for ICP-OES. Daniel-Prowse holds a doctoral degree in analytical chemistry from Wake Forest University and has a strong background in analytical instrumentation, including elemental analysis via XRF and ICP-OES, vibrational spectroscopy including laser photoacoustic spectroscopy, and various sample preparation methodologies. Schulz’s experience in OES for materials analysis and testing spans more than 30 years. With an engineering degree in physics, he started his career in the auto industry, initially at Robert Bosch GmbH, and joined Spectro Analytical Instruments in 1989.

To register for the free webinar May 22 at 11 a.m. Eastern Daylight Time (10 a.m. CDT), click here.