Conversion of asphalt into distillate products

This paper reports the conversion of asphalt in a micro-autoclave under an inert atmosphere of nitrogen to lighter products. The influence of temperature, contact time and some catalysts, i.e. clay type; UTIMAC, HZSM-5 and sodium silicate, acidic type; phospho-tungstic acid, oxide type; ammonium hepta molybdate, silica gel, nickel oxide and alumina powder, chloride type; stannous chloride and aluminum chloride and modifiers like methyl iodide and coal, on the yield of liquid and gas products was studied. A marked effect of temperature on the yield of liquid as well as gas products was observed. Employment of clay type catalysts was found to be beneficial in term of yields of liquid products. Among the catalysts used; UTIMAC clay caused the maximum conversion to desired products. The other catalysts caused a decline in the yield of desired products because of coke formation due to condensation reactions catalyzed by these catalysts. The effect of concentration in the case of clay as catalyst was also studied, and synergistic effects were observed in terms of desired product yield. The study will be helpful in planning asphalt conversion processes into light oil fractions.