PEFTEC 2017 Announces Programme for Analytical Conference

The organisers of PEFTEC 2017 (Antwerp, 29-30th November) have published the Conference themes for this year’s event and announced that registration is now open via www.PEFTEC.com.

PEFTEC is a specialist event focused on the testing, analysis and monitoring of downstream oil products, chemicals and petrochemicals. Created to provide the latest guidance on regulations, methods and technologies for analytical chemists, scientists, process operators, laboratory personnel and environmental managers, PEFTEC 2017 builds on the success of the inaugural event that took place in 2015.

Located at the Antwerp Expo in Belgium, PEFTEC 2017 will be situated at the centre of one the world’s largest clusters of petrochemical companies. The event will provide the industry with an opportunity to discover the latest information on testing and monitoring, in the laboratory, in the field and on-site. A major international exhibition will feature over 150 of the world’s leading providers of analytical testing and monitoring equipment and services, and technical conferences will address the topics of greatest interest to industry practitioners.

PEFTEC Analytical Conference (29th & 30th November)

The 2 day conference is divided into 4 half-day themed sessions which are planned to allow delegates with particular technique interests to cover their topic of interest in the conference whilst also consulting the wide range of relevant instrument manufacturers and providers in the exhibition. The Analytical Techniques sessions will discuss the latest developments and trends in analysis in the petrochemical industries through presentations from leading academic and industry experts.

The morning session on Day 1 will cover Elemental Analysis and Speciation including trace metal analysis and the speciation of mercury, phosphorus, arsenic and oxygen compounds in a range of petrochemical samples. The afternoon session of day 1 will be dedicated to the latest developments in Mass Spectrometry.

The increased availability of affordable, reliable and easy to operate high resolution mass spectrometers when combined with sample ionisation techniques which offer a degree of chemical selectivity has led to a recent dramatic rise in the use of these techniques. In this session, leading researchers in this field from academia and industry will cover all of the main techniques and their application.

The morning session on Day 2 will address Separation Science techniques including GC, HPLC and SFC with a focus on multidimensional and hyphenated systems. GC continues to be the most commonly used chromatographic technique in the industry and the application of multidimensional GC techniques will be covered in the first 2 presentations, followed by a talk on the application of in silico modelling of GC separations. The remainder of the session will cover the application of SFC and HPLC and their combinations to achieve improved separations.

The final afternoon session will cover spectroscopic techniques and on-line analysis, focusing on the rapid rise of Vacuum Ultra-Violet Spectroscopy (VUV) in the industry. VUV is a selective and sensitive detector for hydrocarbon analysis which in a relatively brief time has been widely accepted by the industry and in combination with GC has recently been approved as an ASTM method for the analysis of finished gasoline (ASTM D8071). The application of thermo-gravimetric analysis coupled with infra-red spectroscopy (TGA-IR) for fouling deposit analysis and the application of comprehensive two dimensional GC for on-line analysis will complete the session and the analytical technique conference.

PEFTEC Exhibition

Many of the 150+ exhibitors will use the event to launch a new product or unveil their latest technology. With so much to see at the Exhibition, PEFTEC organiser Marcus Pattison is urging delegates and visitors to plan their time carefully and allocate plenty of time to learn about the latest innovations on show at the exhibition.

The cost of admission to the PEFTEC Conferences is €125/day, but entry to the Exhibition (from any of the conferences) is free of charge for those that pre-register at www.PEFTEC.com.