Overview
ISO 6729:2024 - "Petroleum products and other liquids - Standard test method for ethanol determination in gasoline blends by gas chromatography" specifies a validated laboratory procedure to quantify ethanol in gasoline blends using gas chromatography (GC) with a flame ionization detector (FID). The method covers gasoline samples with ethanol content from 1.02% to 52.3% by volume and defines operating conditions, calibration, precision and reporting rules for reliable ethanol determination.
Key topics and technical requirements
- Analytical principle: Gas chromatography with FID, split/splitless injector, non‑polar fused‑silica capillary column (100% dimethylpolysiloxane).
- Applicability: Ethanol content range 1.02%–52.3% (v/v); single‑result reporting limits 0.53%–60.0% (v/v).
- Typical instrument settings: detector ~300 °C, injector ~250 °C, split ~300:1, injection 1.0 µL, analysis time ~26.75 min (document lists the recommended oven program and flows).
- Reagents and gases: Ethanol ≥99.8% purity; n‑heptane or isooctane (≥99.5%) as solvent; hydrogen or helium carrier gas (GC quality).
- Calibration: External standard method using multi‑point calibration (example levels: 15, 25, 30, 40, 55 % v/v). For low‑ethanol samples prepare additional standards that bracket the target. Calibration must achieve R² ≥ 0.995.
- Precision: Repeatability and reproducibility expressed by statistical formulas (document provides r = 0.1014·x^0.7 and R = 0.4065·x^0.7, where x is the average ethanol content). Interlaboratory data from 11 labs are included.
- Results expression: Report with two decimal places for