The presence of some elements in gasoline above certain concentration
limits is undesirable, not only by the possibility of damaging
motor parts and poor performance of the fuel, but also because of the
pollution caused by the release of toxic elements to the atmosphere
due to the combustion of the fuel [1]. Anthropogenic activities are of
main importance in the mobilization of mercury and its compounds
and, among them, the burning of fossil fuels is of special concern [2].
According to the literature [3], different Hg species can be present in
petroleum and in its fractions. Metallic elements are normally present
at very low concentrations in gasoline, requiring very sensitive techniques
or pre-concentration steps for their determination [4].
However, few papers on the determination of total mercury in
petroleum products have been published. Excellent limits of detection
using cold vapor atomic absorption spectrometry