Abstract
The coking propensity (mesophase appearance time and size) of a fraction of mineral-matter-free Athabasca bitumen vacuum bottoms was investigated using hot-stage (high-temperature and high-pressure) microscopy. The following variables were studied: (1) gas atmosphere (hydrogen and nitrogen); (2) different clay minerals and concentrations (kaolinite at 2 wt % and 5 wt %, illite at 5 wt %, and montmorillonite at 5 wt %). The results of repeated experiments indicated that the mesophase induction period was relatively insensitive to the gas atmosphere. However, the size of the mesophase measured over the same time period was larger and the growth was uninhibited under hydrogen compared with nitrogen. It was also observed that the use of different clays at different concentrations did not significantly affect the mesophase induction period. Kaolinite, at the same concentration, had a significant effect in reducing the size of the mesophase compared with illite and montmorillonite. The effect was more pronounc...
Published Version
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