Spectrofluorometric characterization of oil from pyrolysis of scrap tires

Almost all kinds of fuel applied in combustion engines come from refining industry, in which crude oil serves as basic raw material. However, there are also searched other sources of hydrocarbons which can be used directly or as additives to conventional fuels. The most popular in this regard are vegetable oils such as rapeseed oil, from which are produced esters used as fuel for diesel engines. On the other hand, as additives to gasoline can be used alcohols derived from the fermentation of agricultural products. Another way to obtain liquid hydrocarbons is pyrolysis of scrap tires. In this article, such pyrolytic product is analysed in terms of its fluorescence properties compared to the fluorescent properties of substances derived from the distillation of the pyrolysis product in three following temperatures: 160, 204 and 350 ºC. All the tested substances show relatively strong fluorescence in ultraviolet range. Fluorometric spectra were performed applying the spectrofluorometer Hitachi F-7000 FL with 1x1 cm quartz cuvette. Studied substances were previously diluted in n-hexane to obtain concentration 4 ppm. Amount of fluorescent peaks and their positions depends on kind of distillate. Ipso facto fluorescence method seems be suitable much more – than chemical analyse – for quick identification of substances constituting a components of distillate obtained from pyrolytic product.