Study of hydrocarbon thermal conversion in heavy naphthene-base oil

Conversion trends of the saturated and aromatic hydrocarbons in the heavy naphthene-base crude oil have been studied during thermal cracking. It is identified that during thermal cracking (450°C) of saturated hydrocarbon and aromatic hydrocarbon fractions, extracted from heavy oil, cycloalkanes and aromatic hydrocarbons undergo reactions of condensation, resulting in resins and asphaltenes generation. Based on the IR-spectroscopy data, resin products generated from SHC thermolysis differ from the initial resins in the higher content of carbonyl groups and the lack of aromatic moieties in the molecular structure. Resins and asphaltenes in the AHC thermolysis products are more aromatic and oxidized, than the initial resins. The content of sulfoxide groups is elevated in these products. The asphaltenes molecular structure after the AHC thermal cracking is shown to have more branched aliphatic fragments.