Precipitation, fractionation and characterization of asphaltenes from heavy and light crude oils

F. Trejo, G. Centeno, J. Ancheyta

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116 Scopus citations

Abstract

Asphaltenes of Maya and Isthmus crude oils were precipitated, fractionated and characterized in this work. Isolation of asphaltenes was performed by following the ASTM D3279 method, which uses n-heptane for solvent precipitation. Asphaltenes were separated into three fractions by Soxhlet extraction with a binary solvent system of toluene and n-heptane. C, H, O, N, S, and Ni and V contents were determined in asphaltenes and in their fractions by elemental analysis and atomic absorption, respectively. VPO aggregate weight and NMR measurements were also performed in all samples. Important differences in properties of unfractionated asphaltenes and asphaltenes fractions were observed. Some of these differences were attributed to impurities in the unfractionated asphaltenes.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)2169-2175
Number of pages7
JournalFuel
Volume83
Issue number16
DOIs
StatePublished - Nov 2004
Externally publishedYes

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