Assessment of Intergrade Contamination in Refined Petroleum Products Using UV-Vis Spectrophotometry
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.70882/josrar.2026.v3i3.235Keywords:
Contamination, Concentration, AGO, DPK, PMS UV VISAbstract
Intergrade contamination, the adulteration of refined petroleum products (PMS, DPK, and AGO) with other petroleum fractions, poses serious risks to safety, public health, and mechanical integrity. This study validates a method for rapid and quantitative measurement of intergrade contamination in binary fuel blends using UV-Vis spectrophotometers. Binary fuel blends of premium motor spirit (PMS), dual-purpose kerosene (DPK), and automotive diesel oil (AGO) were prepared in 20% increments. Spectroscopic analysis revealed characteristic overlapping absorbances in the 220–360 nm range, which are attributed to the aromatic hydrocarbon content of the fuels. Quantitative analysis using the Beer-Lambert law yielded linear calibration curves relating absorbance (a.u.) to contaminant concentration (%). The correlation coefficients (R2) of the linear models were 0.9028 for PMS and AGO, 0.7308for DPK and PMS, and 0.9155 for AGO and DPK. These high R2 values demonstrate the accuracy and reliability of the method, establishing UV-Vis spectrophotometers as an accessible and effective analytical tool for fuel quality control and regulatory compliance.
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Copyright (c) 2026 John Chidowerem Agomuo, Alike Romanus Emeka, Olumide Oluwasanmi Ige (Author)
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