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Molecular characterization of sulfur-containing species in petroleum is important because sulfur-containing compounds are detrimental to the environment and the refining processes. In a recent report, the sulfur-containing compounds in a vacuum bottom residue (VBR) were methylated to enhance their detectability by electrospray ionization (ESI) mass analysis. The most abundant sulfur compounds exhibited relatively low double bond equivalents (4 20), so that methylation followed by ESI MS is not suitable for sulfur speciation of higher-boiling fractions from petroleum crude oil.
Purcell et al. (Tue,) studied this question.