Effect of thermal processing on the properties of Cold Lake asphaltenes

Conference · Tue Jan 01 04:00:00 EST 1980 · Am. Chem. Soc., Div. Fuel Chem., Prepr.; (United States)

OSTI ID:7019749

Gould, K A; Gorbaty, M L

The characteristics of Cold Lake crude and residuum asphaltenes have been compared by a number of instrumental and physical techniques. They were essentially identical in quality and quantity except that the crude asphaltenes exhibited higher average molecular weights as well as molecular weight distributions peaking at higher molecular weights than did the residuum asphaltenes. The thermal history of these particular residuum asphaltenes is much more severe in terms of heating time than would ordinarily be the case for a refinery product from a pipestill since, in the present instance, a pot distillation was used. It therefore seems likely that refinery asphaltenes should be even less different from their respective crude asphaltenes than in this investigation, assuming that pipestill temperatures would be kept below the decomposition temperatures for the asphaltenes. Furthermore, any differences should be further diminished in the event that a crude which is less thermally sensitive than Cold Lake is involved. Since the Cold Lake crude used in this investigation has been exposed to the temperature of the pressurized steam used in the oil production, one cannot be certain that some thermal changes had not already occurred in the crude oil. To study this possibility the properties of cold bailed (i.e., recovered without steam injection) Cold Lake crude asphaltenes are being investigated by many of these same techniques and will be described in a future report.

• Research Organization: Exxon Research and Engineering Co., Linden, NJ
• OSTI ID: 7019749
• Report Number(s): CONF-800814-P2
• Conference Information: Journal Name: Am. Chem. Soc., Div. Fuel Chem., Prepr.; (United States) Journal Volume: 25:3
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

02 PETROLEUM
023000* -- Petroleum-- Properties & Composition
04 OIL SHALES AND TAR SANDS
040500 -- Oil Shales & Tar Sands-- Properties & Composition
ABSORPTION SPECTROSCOPY
ALKANES
ASPHALTENES
ASPHALTS
BITUMENS
CALORIMETRY
CHEMICAL ANALYSIS
CHEMICAL REACTIONS
CHROMATOGRAPHY
COMPARATIVE EVALUATIONS
DECOMPOSITION
ENERGY SOURCES
FOSSIL FUELS
FUELS
GRAVIMETRIC ANALYSIS
HEAT TREATMENTS
HEPTANE
HYDROCARBONS
INFRARED SPECTRA
MOLECULAR WEIGHT
NMR SPECTRA
ORGANIC COMPOUNDS
OTHER ORGANIC COMPOUNDS
PETROLEUM
PYROLYSIS
QUANTITATIVE CHEMICAL ANALYSIS
RESIDUES
SEPARATION PROCESSES
SPECTRA
SPECTROSCOPY
TAR
THERMAL ANALYSIS
THERMAL GRAVIMETRIC ANALYSIS
THERMOCHEMICAL PROCESSES