Asphaltenes

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Exemplary structural formula of an Asphaltene. The straight lines represent the layers of condensed aromatics, the zigzag lines are aliphatic chains.

Asphaltenes are macromolecular , heteroatomic and heavy metal containing ( nickel , iron , vanadium ), predominantly black or dark brown and solid (non-volatile) organic compounds . They form the heaviest and most polar components of petroleum . They are enriched in natural asphalt and heavy oil as well as in the residues from petroleum refining ( heavy oil , bitumen ) and are responsible for their high viscosity . Asphaltenes are made up of condensed aromatics to which aliphatic chains are attached. In most cases, the condensed aromatics are arranged in layers and they can be linked to one another by the aliphatic chains both within a layer and between the layers.

The name Asphalten was coined in 1837 by the French chemist Jean-Baptiste Boussingault for the alcohol- insoluble, solid, blackish residue of the distillation of "Bechelbronner Bergtheer" (i.e. heavy oil from the Pechelbronn layers ) because of its similarity with and as a presumed main component of natural asphalt. Today asphaltenes are defined in Germany according to DIN 51595 as the insoluble components at temperatures between 18 and 28 ° C of a crude oil sample diluted 30 times with the non-polar solvent n- heptane . The asphaltenes are therefore not an organic group of substances i. e. S., because they are not defined chemically by their molecular structure or their functional group (s) , but by physical properties.

swell

  • Asphaltenes. Spectrum online encyclopedia of geosciences
  • James G. Speight, Speros E. Moschopedis: On the molecular nature of petroleum asphaltenes. Pp. 1-15 ( doi: 10.1021 / ba-1981-0195.ch001 ) in: James W. Bunger, Norman C. Li (eds.): Chemistry of Asphaltenes. Advances in Chemistry, 195. American Chemical Society, Washington, DC, 1982.
  • James G. Speight: Petroleum Asphaltenes. Part 1. Asphaltenes, Resins and the Structure of Petroleum. Oil & Gas Science and Technology - Revue d'IFP Energies nouvelles. Vol. 59, No. 5 (Dossier: Pipeline Transportation of Heavy Oils), 2004, pp. 467-477, doi: 10.2516 / ogst: 2004032 .

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ the brownish, highly liquid distillate he called Petrolen , see: Jean-Baptiste Boussingault: On the Composition of Erdharze. Annals of Pharmacy. Vol. 23, No. 3, 1837, pp. 261-269 ( HathiTrust )
  2. ^ Maria Magdalena Ramirez-Corredores: The Science and Technology of Unconventional Oils - Finding Refining Opportunities. Academic Press (Elsevier), 2017, ISBN 978-0-12-801225-3 , p. 42