Determination of physico-chemical parameters for bitumens using near infrared spectroscopy

• Published in: Analytica chimica acta Vol. 434; no. 1; pp. 133 - 141
• Main Authors: Blanco, M, Maspoch, S, Villarroya, I, Peralta, X, González, J.M, Torres, J
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Amsterdam Elsevier B.V 25.04.2001; Elsevier
• Subjects: Applied sciences; Bitumens; Crude oil, natural gas and petroleum products; Energy; Exact sciences and technology; Fuels; Multivariate calibration; NIR spectroscopy; Petroleum products, gas and fuels. Motor fuels, lubricants and asphalts; Physico-chemical parameters determination; Physico-chemical parameters determination; Bitumens; NIR spectroscopy; Multivariate calibration; Asphaltene; Oil industry; Near infrared spectrometry; Softening point; Mass density; Specific viscosity; Chemical composition; Breakdown point; Physicochemical properties; Bitumen
• ISSN: 0003-2670; 1873-4324
• DOI: 10.1016/S0003-2670(01)00811-X

Bitumens are usually characterised by using time-consuming empirical or functional physico-chemical tests. This paper reports a method for the determination of various physico-chemical properties (viz. viscosity at 60 and 135°C, density at 15°C, softening point and Fraass breaking point) and the chemical composition (viz. n-heptane-insoluble asphaltenes, asphaltenes+insoluble polar resins (IPR), saturated hydrocarbons, aromatic hydrocarbons and resins) of bitumens using near infrared (NIR) spectroscopy in conjunction with partial least-squares regression (PLSR). The proposed method surpasses existing alternatives in expeditiousness; also, it allows the simultaneous determination of several parameters from a single spectrum and is amenable to implementation in the continuous mode. Its accuracy and precision are essentially identical with those of reference methods; the relative standard deviation ranges from 0.2% for density to 14% for the Fraass breaking point.