COMPOSITION OF THE COMPOUNDS OCCLUDED BY ASPHALTENES OF HEAVY OILS

Abstract

The products of oxidative destruction of asphaltenes of heavy Paleozoic oils from the Ashalcha and Nurlat oilfields differing in the age of host sediments have been studied. It is shown that oxidation of the asphaltenes of both oils by hydrogen peroxide in the presence of acetic acid results in the release of occluded compounds. The compounds identified in their composition include n-alkanes, steranes, hopanes and methyl esters of n-alkane acids. A peculiarity of the asphaltenes of Nurlat oil occurring in the Devonian sediments is the presence of n-alkenes in the composition of occluded compounds. The presence of occluded compounds in the structure of asphaltenes is confirmed by the results of X-ray diffraction analysis.