Ionic Liquids: Novel Solvents for Petroleum Asphaltenes

The dissolution of petroleum asphaltenes with ionic liquids is studied for the first time. The results show that the ionic liquids could be used as novel solvents for asphaltenes. The important parameters governing the ability of ionic liquids for dissolution of asphaltenes are discussed. It is found that, the ionic liquids based on the cations containing a conjugated aromatic core or the anions which are strong hydrogen bond acceptors are most effective, whereas the ionic liquids containing 'non coordinating' anions such as [BF4]- and [PF6]- are nonsolvents for asphaltenes. Increase in the effective anion charge density enhances the ability of ionic liquids to break the extensive asphaltene associations and thus enhances the solubility of asphaltenes in the ionic liquid. The dissolution ability of ionic liquid decreases apparently with increasing the substituted alkyl chain length of its cationic head ring. Temperature is found to play an important role on dissolution of asphaltenes, and the dissolution can be significantly improved by microwave heating.