Differentiation and Quantification of Corrosive Amines Through Simple Chemical Process

A new method has been developed to differentiate and quantify the amount of primary amines through a simple chemical process. Colored cyclic adduct compounds are formed by reaction of selective chemicals with primary amine. This adduct formation is preferential to the primary amine, even in the presence of a mixture of secondary and tertiary amines. The adduct shows selective enhanced fluorescence emission at 475-nm wavelength under specific excitation with 420 nm. Due to enhanced fluorescence activity, quantification becomes possible, even below a 1-ppm concentration of specific primary amine. A chemical matrix, formulated with the mixture of different concentrations of primary, secondary and tertiary amines, helps to differentiate and quantify primary amines present in the mixture, even at lower concentrations. This method is validated under synthetic field brine conditions to detect and quantify primary amines towards field applications.