Molecular Weight and Density Distributions of Asphaltenes from Crude Oils

Asphaltenes self-associate, and the molecular weight and density distributions are a factor in asphaltene precipitiation. To determine these distributions, heptane-extracted asphaltenes from four crude oils were fractionated into solubility cuts. The asphaltenes were dissolved in toluene and then partially precipitated at specified ratios of heptane/toluene to generate sets of light (soluble) and heavy (insoluble) cuts. The molecular weight and density were measured for each cut. The asphaltenes were found to include both associating and non-associating asphaltenes. The content of non-associating components was up to 15 wt % of the asphaltenes. The density distributions were determined directly from the data. The molecular weight data were fitted with a self-association model to predict the distributions at any given concentration. Then, a guideline was developed to represent the molecular weight distribution of non-associated and associated asphaltenes with a Gamma distribution function. Finally, the density of asphaltene cuts was correlated to their molecular weight. This correlation fit the data with an average absolute deviation of 11 kg/m(3).