Thermal Crackability/Processability of Oils and Residua

The maximum potential for producing light ends under a set of operational parameters for oil feedstocks is termed “crackability”. When constrained by the appearance of undesirable solid phases, the term “processability” applies to the potential of light ends production. These parameters were correlated with the thermal maturity of the samples. Thermal maturity was inferred from two proposed indicators: the first one was based on the “delta solubility parameter” (ΔPS) and the second was based on differential heavy hydrocarbon abundances determined by high-temperature simulated distillation (Δ%(C44–C100)). A set of 36 samples that was comprised of oils, distillation residua, and thermally cracked residua was studied. Samples with increased thermal maturity were found to decrease their crackability/processability. Samples with high solubility parameter (ΔPS), low Δ%(C44–C100), and low molecular weight were found to have increased thermal maturity. Attempts to correlate saturates, aromatics, resins, and aspha...