Chang Samuel Hsu

Area of research

Analytical Chemistry · Mechanics of Materials

Research interest

Research topics from publications: Characterization of Middle-Temperature Gasification Coal Tar. Part 3: Molecular Composition of Acidic Compounds; Springer Handbook of Petroleum Technology; Distribution of acids and nitrogen-containing compounds in biodegraded oils of the Liaohe Basin by negative ion ESI FT-ICR MS; Compositional Space Boundaries for Organic Compounds; Acidic and Neutral Polar NSO Compounds in Heavily Biodegraded Oils Characterized by Negative-Ion ESI FT-ICR MS; Atmospheric Pressure Laser-Induced Acoustic Desorption Chemical Ionization Mass Spectrometry for Analysis of Saturated Hydrocarbons; Separation and Characterization of Olefin/Paraffin in Coal Tar and Petroleum Coker Oil; The characteristics of the biomarkers and δ13C of n-alkanes released from thermally altered solid bitumens at various maturities by catalytic hydropyrolysis; Petroleum Sulfur Biomarkers Analyzed by Comprehensive Two-Dimensional Gas Chromatography Sulfur-Specific Detection and Mass Spectrometry; Impact of Inorganically Bound Sulfur on Late Shale Gas Generation. Representative work: Coal tar has been considered as a potential energy alternative because of dwindling supplies of petroleum. To determine if the coal tar could be refined and upgraded to produce clean transportation fuels, detailed investigation of its composition is necessary, particularly for identifying the acidic components that account for about one-quarter of the weight of the coal tar. A middle-temperature coal tar (MTCT) and its fractions were characterized by gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (GC–MS) and negative-ion electrospray ionization (ESI) Fourier transform ion cyclotron resonance mass spectrometry (FT-ICR MS) with different ion transmission modes for high- and low-mass ions. Analytical res An upper elemental compositional boundary for fossil hydrocarbons has previously been established as double-bond equivalents (i.e., DBE = rings plus double bonds) not exceeding 90% of the number of carbons. For heteroatom-containing fossil compounds, the 90% rule still applies if each N atom is counted as a C atom. The 90% rule eliminates more than 10% of the possible elemental compositions at a given mass for fossil database molecules. However, some synthetic compounds can fall outside the upper boundary defined for naturally occurring compounds. Their inclusion defines an "absolute" upper boundary as