Determination of the four generic fractions of aged bitumen by thin-layer chromatography with flame ionization detection

Abstract

The aging process of bitumen has been paid more and more attention by the researchers. The four generic fractions (saturates, aromatics, resins and asphaltenes) of bitumen change significantly during the aging process. The analysis of the changes of the four generic fractions of bitumen is very helpful to reveal the bitumen aging mechanisms and guide its engineering applications. In this study, the bitumen was aged by thin film oven test (TFOT) , pressurized aging vessel (PAV) test and ultraviolet (UV) aging test, respectively. Then the four generic fractions of bitumen before and after aging were analyzed by thin-layer chromatography with flame ionization detection (TLC-FID) , which was further compared with the solubility procedures and chromatographic technique ( named as Corbett method). The compositions of the expanded solvents were also investigated. Finally, the correlation between the TLC-FID and Corbett method was further studied, which revealed a proper TLC-FID meth- od for detection of aged bitumen. The bitumen solution dissolved by dichloromethane was successively expanded by n-heptane, toluene/n-heptane (80 :20, v/v) and toluene/ethanol (55: 45, v/v) , followed by TLC-FID. This method is of great significance for the analysis of the four generic fractions of bitumen and for the exploration of bitumen aging mechanisms.