Boduszynski predicted that crude oil composition varies gradually and continuously in aromaticity, molecular weight, and heteroatom content. Previous characterization of HVGO by FT-ICR MS provided data that strongly support the continuum model. However, when the molecular formulas for the sum of the distillate cuts and asphaltenes from the whole crude are plotted in DBE versus number of carbons compositional space, a gap exists between �asphaltene� and �maltene� space. Here, a heavy distillate cut is separated based on the number of aromatic rings by HPLC-2 in an effort to resolve the compositional �gap�. Each fraction is exhaustively characterized by FT-ICR MS and MS/MS. Characterization of each HPLC-2 fraction shows the gradual and continuous trend predicted by Boduszynski that fills the compositional �gap�. Tandem MS shows that each fraction is comprised of both island and archipelago structural motifs and that asphaltenes have higher order fused ring core structures relative to maltenes.

Comprehensive characterization of heavy petroleum by HPLC-2 and tandem FT-ICR mass spectrometry

244th National Meeting (2012)

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