Cold extraction of post-salt oil asphaltenes and their solubilization in deep eutectic solvents

Abstract

The most used oil deasphalting processes are Residuum Oil Supercritical Extraction Kerr-McGee (ROSE), thermal hydrocracking, and liquid-liquid extraction at lower temperatures from 100° to 150°C. All these processes require a large amount of thermal energy, in which the growing global demand for energy emerges the need to improve more efficient, economical, and environmentally friendly techniques. This work proposes a cold extraction asphaltenes process from oil. In addition to removing asphaltenes, the solubilization of asphaltenes in two Deep Eutectic Solvents (DES) (Thymol:C8 Ac. and Menthol:Thymol) is proposed. These solvents have the advantage of lower toxicity, recyclability, and chemical and thermal stability. The study of the use of these solvents in the oil industry is recent and has shown great potential for its application on a large scale. These asphaltenes were solubilized without saturation up to an initial concentration of 7 g/L, maintaining solubilization for 48 h. These results are a basis for future studies on a pilot scale for industrial application and bioconversion of asphaltenes into value-added products.