Abstract
Vanadium, among other elements which deposit on a cracking catalyst, affects the catalyst activity. The inductively coupled plasma as an ion source, when combined with a mass analyzer, resulted in a sensitive tool for elemental analysis (ICP/MS) at parts per billion levels in solution. This technique has been applied for the determination of vanadium in five samples of Saudi Arabian crude oil. A nitric acid extraction procedure, using MIBK as a diluent for the oil and a standard addition method, were employed for the analysis. Recovery of added vanadium is 99-101%.