PETR 169 |
| Several controversies have been long standing in asphaltene science, yet this field has enormous economic implications as will be discussed. Here, we first present the resolution of the 20-year controversy over asphaltene molecular weight. Various diffusion methods show that asphaltenes are small molecules with mean molecule weight of ~750g/mole with a factor of ~2 variation. In addition, carbon K-edge x-ray raman spectroscopy (XRRS) is applied to polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH's) and asphaltenes. The monomeric picture is supported, asphaltenes predominantly contain a singled PAH core with alkane substitution. Very recent high-Q ultrasonic studies have shown that asphaltenes aggregate in toluene at ~ 150 mg/liter in toluene, much lower than previously thought. Clustering of aggregates is briefly mentioned. All these strong scientific advances in asphaltene science are discussed within the context of Petroleomics, the future of petroleum chemical analysis. |
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Characterization, On-Line Monitoring, and Sensing of Petroleums and Petrochemicals
1:30 PM-4:30 PM, Thursday, 14 September 2006 Palace -- Telegraph Hill, Oral
Division of Petroleum Chemistry |