Tar sand analyses

Table II. Analyses of Solvent-Extracted Fractions from Uinta Basin, Utah Tar Sands...

Analyses of Fractions from Edna, California, and Battle Creek, Wyoming, Tar Sands... 

Analyses of Oil Produced during in Situ Reverse Combustion of a Utah Tar Sand... 

The precise chemical composition of bitumen is, despite the large volume of work performed in this area, largely speculative. In very general terms (and as observed from elemental analyses), tar sand bitumen is an extremely complex mixture of 1) hydrocarbons 2) nitrogen compoimds 3) oxygen compounds 4) sulfur compounds and 5) metallic constituents. However, this general definition is not adequate to describe the composition of petroleum as it relates to the behavior of the feedstocks. 

Baker E. W., Huang W. Y., Palmer S. E. and Rankin J. G. (1977) Mass and electron paramagnetic resonance spectrometric analyses of selected organic components of Cretaceous shales of marine origin. Symposium on Analytical Chemistry of Tar Sands and Oil Shale. Amer. Chem. Soc., New Orleans, March 20-25, 1977, 739-752. Baskin D. K. (1997) Atomic H/C ratio of kerogen as an estimate of thermal maturity and organic matter conversion. Am. Assoc. Petrol. Geol. Bull. 81, 1437-1450. 

This sample has been discussed elsewhere [78,79,92]. Table 33.1 shows the elemental analyses of the sample and the fractions, while Table 33.2 shows the proportions of the maltene and asphaltene fractions. Figure 33.7 shows LD-MS of a distillation residue of Syncrude sweet blend from the Athabasca tar sands, at different LPs and different HMA voltages (9 and 10 kV). At 30% LP, the spectra (1 and 2) were very weak and close to the ionization threshold at 40% LP, the maximum ion intensity shifted slightly to higher mass (m/z 300-400) and the upper mass limit moved to about m/z 5000 at 50% LP, the maximum ion intensity remained between 300 and 400 though off-scale, while the upper mass limit moved to m/z 20,000-30,000 with evidence of cluster ion formation. Figure 33.8 shows the Syncrude mass... 

Long chain alkyl aromatic (LCAA) hydrocarbons have been selectively depleted. Core and sidewall core samples from the most severely tar plugged sands (2E-17 and lJ-14) had the most extensive removal of LCAAs. All analysed incidences of tar or viscous oil corresponded to depleted LCAA. 

---