Petroleum liquids, comparative characterization

Comparative Characterization and Hydrotreating Response of Coal, Shale, and Petroleum Liquids... 

The most important olefins used for the production of petrochemicals are ethylene, propylene, the butylenes, and isoprene. These olefins are usually coproduced with ethylene by steam cracking ethane, LPG, liquid petroleum fractions, and residues. Olefins are characterized by their higher reactivities compared to paraffinic hydrocarbons. They can easily react with inexpensive reagents such as water, oxygen, hydrochloric acid, and chlorine to form valuable chemicals. Olefins can even add to themselves to produce important polymers such as polyethylene and polypropylene. Ethylene is the most important olefin for producing petrochemicals, and therefore, many sources have been sought for its production. The following discusses briefly, the properties of these olefmic intermediates. 

Griest WH, Ho CH, Guerin MR, et al. 1986. Comparative toxicity of crude and refined coal liquids and analogous petroleum products 11. Chemical characterization. Prepared Papers of the American Chemical Society, Division of Fuel Chemistry 31(2)189-195. 

Analytical separation and spectroscopic techniques normally used for petroleum crudes and residues were modified and used to characterize coal liquids, tar sands bitumens, and shale oils. These techniques include solvent extraction, adsorption, ion-exchange, and metal complexing chromatography to provide discrete fractions. The fractions are characterized by various physical and spectroscopic methods such as GLC, MS, NMR, etc. The methods are relatively fast, require only a few grams of sample, provide compound type fractions for detailed characterization, and provide comparative compositional profiles for natural and synthetic fuels. Additional analytical methods are needed in some areas. 

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