Determining the interaction and characterization of asphaltene in alkylbenzene solvents using nuclear-electron double resonance

ABSTRACT

This study uses ¹H dynamic nuclear polarization (DNP) methods to determine asphaltene aggregates and the interaction between asphaltene extracted from MC800 asphalt and alkylbenzene solvents, as well as elemental analysis for the characterization of asphaltene. The asphaltene sample was characterized using the elemental analysis of carbon (C), hydrogen (H), nitrogen (N), and sulfur (S). The results show that asphaltenes have the highest carbon content. The sulfur and hydrogen contents are nearly the same and nitrogen content is the smallest. The DNP data provided good results for characterizing asphaltene behavior in alkylbenzene solvents.

GRAPHICAL ABSTRACT

KEYWORDS:

• Asphaltene
• asphaltene characterization
• dynamic nuclear polarization
• intermolecular spin–spin interaction