Composition of asphaltenes from coal liquids

Conference · Sat Sep 01 04:00:00 EDT 1979 · Am. Chem. Soc., Div. Pet. Chem., Prepr.; (United States)

OSTI ID:5539076

Aczel, T; Williams, R B; Chamberlain, N F; Lumpkin, H E

Asphaltenes are generally defined as those components in petroleum and coal liquids that under certain conditions are soluble in benzene but insoluble in aliphatic solvents, such as n-pentane, n-heptane or cyclohexane. This definition obviously includes a broad variety of components, as insolubility in the above solvents can be caused by high molecular weight, high polarity, hydrogen bonding, acid-base complexing or a combination of two or more of these parameters. Asphaltenes are thought to be a major intermediate in the thermal processes leading to coal liquefaction. Coal derived asphaltenes are generally more polar but of lower molecular weights than petroleum asphaltenes, and, thus, are more amenable to detailed compositional analyses. We have recently determined the structural parameters and composition of some asphaltene samples obtained from the Synthoil and Exxon Donor Solvent (EDS) liquefaction processes. Information from many spectrometry, integrated with data from NMR, IR, molecular weight determinations, elemental analysis and separations furnished us with a novel and detailed insight into the nature of these asphaltenes. The excellent agreement observed between composites calculated from the detailed MS data, where available, and the averages determined by NMR, IR, elemental analyses, etc., reinforces the credibility of the approaches used and allows extrapolations to heavier samples that are not amenable to detailed MS characterization. This paper describes briefly the analytical methodology used, summarizes the more than 1200 individual asphaltene components determined, and discusses the overall structural implications of the integrated analytical findings.

• Research Organization: Exxon Research and Engineering Co., Baytown, TX
• OSTI ID: 5539076
• Report Number(s): CONF-790917-(Vol.24)(No.4)
• Conference Information: Journal Name: Am. Chem. Soc., Div. Pet. Chem., Prepr.; (United States) Journal Volume: 24:4
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

01 COAL, LIGNITE, AND PEAT
010405* -- Coal
Lignite
& Peat-- Hydrogenation & Liquefaction
37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CHEMISTRY
400100 -- Analytical & Separations Chemistry
AROMATICS
ASPHALTENES
ASPHALTS
BITUMENS
CHEMICAL ANALYSIS
CHEMICAL COMPOSITION
COAL LIQUEFACTION
COAL LIQUIDS
CONDENSED AROMATICS
EXXON LIQUEFACTION PROCESS
FRACTIONATION
HETEROCYCLIC COMPOUNDS
INFRARED SPECTRA
LIQUEFACTION
MAGNETIC RESONANCE
MASS SPECTROSCOPY
MOLECULAR WEIGHT
NUCLEAR MAGNETIC RESONANCE
ORGANIC COMPOUNDS
OTHER ORGANIC COMPOUNDS
RESONANCE
SEPARATION PROCESSES
SPECTRA
SPECTROSCOPY
STRUCTURAL CHEMICAL ANALYSIS
SYNTHOIL PROCESS
TAR
THERMOCHEMICAL PROCESSES
ULTRAVIOLET SPECTRA