Petroleomics by FT-MS: comprehensive analysis of crude oils using SARA fractionation with emphasis in asphaltenes and resins characterization

Abstract

Crude oil is one of the most important substances consumed by mankind at present time and its chemical complexity offers one of the most challenging samples for chemical analysis. In general, the chemical composition of crude oils predominantly consists of hydrocarbons, such as paraffins and aromatics (90%) and another portion, approximately 10% consists of polar compounds containing heteroatoms N, O and S, and combinations thereof. The petroleomics field using mass spectrometric techniques with ultra-high resolution and mass accuracy may offer high selectivity, speed, resolution and mass-accuracy, placing itself today as a strategy at the forefront of knowledge in characterization of oils crude oils and derivatives using Fourier transform ion cyclotron resonance mass spectrometry (FT-ICR MS and FT-Orbitrap MS) system. The justification for execution of this project is related to society's demand for fossil fuels, which consist of increasingly heavy crude oils reserves, characterized by the presence of complex chemical structures mainly into fractions of asphaltenes and resins. These fractions are the most complex present in crude oils, and its characterization generates the need for studies with high potential techniques in petroleomics. This study is focussing on the characterization of crude oils and their SARA fractions using ultra-high resolution mass spectrometry technique (FT-ICR MS), using multiple ionization methods (APLI, APPI, APCI and/or ESI). The emphasis will be in the comprehensive characterization of asphaltenes and resins fractions derived from crude oils with different °API. Considering the structural complexity of the asphaltene and resins fractions, the emphasis in the comprehensive characterization of these fractions will be applied based on the different information that each ionization source, with its inherent characteristic, can provide. Therefore the project proposed here aims to develop a new strategy for characterization of complex crude oils mixtures and understanding the dependence of their physical properties like viscosity and density on the molecular components present in the crude oils. Here the direct relation of class distribution and physical properties should be derived by studying different crude oils with an array of ionization methods, yielding a comprehensive molecular level study. (AU)