Influence of asphaltene esterification conditions on product composition

The article is devoted to the study of reactivity and composition of oil asphaltene esterification products formed in reactions of various duration with and without solvent. As a result of the study, high reactivity of asphaltenes in reaction of esterification with isopropyl alcohol for 40 hours was first shown. Products contain 40 % wt. of fractions soluble in n-heptane and isopropyl alcohol. The increase in the duration of the reaction from 40 to 120 hours leads to counter reaction with the decrease in forming less polar substances by 5-6 % wt. Adding solvent (benzene) into the reaction mixture also negatively influences the effectiveness of asphaltene esterification for 40 hours. The results obtained show that the suggested approach is promising for chemical processing of asphaltene concentrates into less polar low-molecular products.