The separation of crude oil into its respective fractions occurs by various methods, one of which includes the industrial IP-143 standard method. Little work has been done to study the effectiveness of this standard method to extract pure asphaltene samples. This study seeks to evaluate the efficacy of this method by analyzing bulk maltenes and samples obtained during successive n-heptane washes as directed by the IP-143 method for two different types of crude oil. The ultrahigh resolution, resolving power and mass accuracy of ESI FT-ICR mass spectrometry was utilized to investigate the chemical composition of these samples. Results indicate maltene constituents co-precipitate with the asphaltene fraction for both oils, even when the standard method calls for the completion of the n-heptane wash step. The type of crude oil also appears to affect the efficacy of the standard method, indicating composition might play a key role in those species that co-precipitate with the asphaltene fraction. More studies need to be completed to correlate crude oil composition and the effectiveness of the IP-143 method to extract pure asphaltenes.

Investigation into the efficacy of the IP-143 method for the separation of asphaltenes from bulk crude oils

251st National Meeting (2016)

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