In organic chemistry, an alkane, or paraffin, is an acyclic saturated hydrocarbon. In other words, an alkane consists of hydrogen and carbon atoms arranged in a tree structure in which all the carbon–carbon bonds are single. Alkanes have the general chemical formula CnH2n+2. The alkanes range in complexity from the simplest case of methane, where n = 1, to arbitrarily large and complex molecules, like pentacontane or 6-ethyl-2-methyl-5-(1-methylethyl) octane, an isomer of tetradecane.
Bitumen is an immensely viscous constituent of petroleum. Depending on its exact composition it can be a sticky, black liquid or an apparently solid mass that behaves as a liquid over very large time scales. In American English, the material is commonly referred to as asphalt. Whether found in natural deposits or refined from petroleum, the substance is classed as a pitch. Prior to the 20th century, the term asphaltum was in general use. The word derives from the Ancient Greek word ἄσφαλτος (ásphaltos), which referred to natural bitumen or pitch. The largest natural deposit of bitumen in the world is the Pitch Lake of southwest Trinidad, which is estimated to contain 10 million tons.
In organic chemistry, a hydrocarbon is an organic compound consisting entirely of hydrogen and carbon. Hydrocarbons are examples of group 14 hydrides. Hydrocarbons are generally colourless and hydrophobic; their odor is usually faint, and may be similar to that of gasoline or lighter fluid. They occur in a diverse range of molecular structures and phases: they can be gases, liquids, low melting solids or polymers.
Heptane or n-heptane is the straight-chain alkane with the chemical formula H3C(CH2)5CH3 or C7H16. When used as a test fuel component in anti-knock test engines, a 100% heptane fuel is the zero point of the octane rating scale (the 100 point is 100% iso-octane). Octane number equates to the anti-knock qualities of a comparison mixture of heptane and iso-octane which is expressed as the percentage of iso-octane in heptane, and is listed on pumps for gasoline (petrol) dispensed globally.
A visbreaker is a processing unit in an oil refinery whose purpose is to reduce the quantity of residual oil produced in the distillation of crude oil and to increase the yield of more valuable middle distillates by the refinery. A visbreaker thermally cracks large hydrocarbon molecules in the oil by heating in a furnace to reduce its viscosity and to produce small quantities of light hydrocarbons.. The process name of "visbreaker" refers to the fact that the process reduces the viscosity of the residual oil. The process is non-catalytic.
Petroleum geochemistry is a branch of geochemistry which deals specifically with petroleum and its origin, generation, and accumulation, as well as its extraction, refinement, and use. Petroleum, also known as crude oil, is a solid, liquid, and/or gaesous mix of hydrocarbons. These hydrocarbons are from the burial and metamorphosis of organic matter from millions of years ago; the organic matter is from marine animals, plants, and algae. Petroleum is extracted from the Earth, refined, and used as an energy source.
Heavy crude oil is highly viscous oil that cannot easily flow from production wells under normal reservoir conditions.
Bonny Light oil was found at Oloibiri in the Niger delta region of Nigeria in 1956 for its commercial use. Due to its features of generating high profit, it is highly demanded by refiners. Bonny light oil has an API of 32.9, classified as light oil. It is regarded as more valuable than the other oils with lower API as more high-value products are produced in the refinement. However, in Nigeria, problems due to oil spillage caused by vandalism, affects both human and the ecosystem in detrimental ways. Some experiments on animals and soil are done to figure out those impacts on organisms.
Asphaltenes are molecular substances that are found in crude oil, along with resins, aromatic hydrocarbons, and saturates. The word "asphaltene" was coined by Boussingault in 1837 when he noticed that the distillation residue of some bitumens had asphalt-like properties. Asphaltenes in the form of asphalt or bitumen products from oil refineries are used as paving materials on roads, shingles for roofs, and waterproof coatings on building foundations.
Fragrance extraction refers to the separation process of aromatic compounds from raw materials, using methods such as distillation, solvent extraction, expression, sieving, or enfleurage. The results of the extracts are either essential oils, absolutes, concretes, or butters, depending on the amount of waxes in the extracted product.
A crude oil assay is the chemical evaluation of crude oil feedstocks by petroleum testing laboratories. Each crude oil type has unique molecular and chemical characteristics. No two crude oil types are identical and there are crucial differences in crude oil quality. The results of crude oil assay testing provide extensive detailed hydrocarbon analysis data for refiners, oil traders and producers. Assay data help refineries determine if a crude oil feedstock is compatible for a particular petroleum refinery or if the crude oil could cause yield, quality, production, environmental and other problems.
Natural-gas processing is a range of industrial processes designed to purify raw natural gas by removing contaminants such as solids, water, carbon dioxide (CO2), hydrogen sulfide (H2S), mercury and higher molecular mass hydrocarbons (condensate) to produce pipeline quality dry natural gas for pipeline distribution and final use. Some of the substances which contaminate natural gas have economic value and are further processed or sold. Hydrocarbons that are liquid at ambient conditions: temperature and pressure (i.e., pentane and heavier) are called natural-gas condensate (sometimes also called natural gasoline or simply condensate).
Naphthenic acids (NAs) are mixtures of several cyclopentyl and cyclohexyl carboxylic acids with molecular weights of 120 to well over 700 atomic mass units. The main fractions are carboxylic acids with a carbon backbone of 9 to 20 carbons. McKee et al. claim that "naphthenic acids (NAs) are primarily cycloaliphatic carboxylic acids with 10 to 16 carbons", although acids containing up to 50 carbons have been identified in heavy petroleum.
Housane or bicyclo[2.1.0]pentane is a saturated cycloalkane with the formula C5H8. It is a colorless, volatile liquid at room temperature. It was named "housane" because of its shape, which resembles a simple drawing of a house. Structurally, the molecule consists of cyclopropane fused to cyclobutane. The synthesis of molecules containing multiple strained rings, such as housane, is a traditional endeavor in synthetic organic chemistry.
Bitumen froth treatment is a process used in the Athabasca oil sands (AOS) bitumen recovery operations to remove fine inorganics—water and mineral particles—from bitumen froth, by diluting the bitumen with a light hydrocarbon solvent—either naphthenic or paraffinic—to reduce the viscosity of the froth and to remove contaminants that were not removed in previous water-based gravity recovery phases. Bitumen with a high viscosity or with too many contaminants, is not suitable for transporting through pipelines or refining. The original and conventional naphthenic froth treatment (NFT) uses a naphtha solvent with the addition of chemicals. Paraffinic Solvent Froth Treatment (PSFT), which was first used commercially in the Albian Sands in the early 2000s, results in a cleaner bitumen with lower levels of contaminates, such as water and mineral solids. Following froth treatments, bitumen can be further upgraded using "heat to produce synthetic crude oil by means of a coker unit."
Base oils are used to manufacture products including lubricating greases, motor oil and metal processing fluids. Different products require different compositions and properties in the oil. One of the most important factors is the liquid’s viscosity at various temperatures. Whether or not a crude oil is suitable to be made into a base oil is determined by the concentration of base oil molecules as well as how easily these can be extracted.
Stock tank oil refers to the volume of oil after flashing to nominal atmospheric storage pressure and temperature.
2,3-Dimethylpentane is an organic compound of carbon and hydrogen with formula C
7H
16, more precisely CH
3–CH(CH
3)–CH(CH
3)–CH
2–CH
3: a molecule of pentane with methyl groups –CH
3 replacing hydrogen atoms on carbon atoms 2 and 3. It is an alkane, a fully saturated hydrocarbon; specifically, one of the isomers of heptane.
Maltenes are the n-alkane -soluble molecular components of asphalt, which is the residue remaining after petroleum refiners remove other useful derivatives such as gasoline and kerosene from crude oil. Asphaltene compounds are the other primary component of asphalt.
