Asphaltene is a large macromolecule defined as the toluene soluble portion of bitumen. It is typically removed early on during the crude oil or oil sand refining process, which is due to it causing issues during the transportation of the material. Currently, there are limited applications for the material outside of its use in asphalt. Due to the large amount produced during the refinery process, there is a need for new uses for asphaltene. One of the major issues is that the chemical structure cannot fully determined. Asphaltene is generally described as a collection of aromatic groups with long alkane chains branching off the aromatic groups. This is generally described as the “island” and “bridge” structure. In addition to the island and bridge structure, there are a number of low molecular weight volatiles within asphaltene. These two factors, the unknown chemical structure, and low molecular weight volatiles can make it difficult to properly process asphaltene. However, if these two factors are overcome and asphaltene is processed, it could serve as a suitable candidate for carbon fiber production<br/><br/>Carbon fiber is an important material that is in need of innovations in production. Currently, the demand of carbon fiber is higher than the quantity that is being produced. Due to the general structure of asphaltene, it could be a good candidate for carbon fiber production. This would not only increase the quantity of carbon fiber being produced but would also provide another value-added revenue stream for asphaltene and allow complete usage of crude oil and oil sands.<br/><br/>In this study, the asphaltene underwent pretreatment in order to remove the low molecular weight volatiles. This was done using a Parr reactor to allow mixing of the asphaltene, the supply of different gases, and heating to remove the low molecular weight volatiles while also stabilizing the larger compounds. The pretreated asphaltene was then processed using a single screw extruder with a custom die to produce the asphaltene fiber. These fibers are then carbonized to form the asphaltene-based carbon fiber.

Production of carbon fibers from crude oil and oil sand residuals

ACS Fall 2021

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