Heavy petroleum residues can be used as raw materials in the production of various carbon products, notably isotropic and anisotropic pitches and different types of coke. The chemical characterization of these residues, and carbon materials in general, is a challenge that has to be addressed in order to allow the adequate optimization of production processes. In this study, petroleum residues of different refineries were studied by NMR, FTIR and elemental analysis. Optimum parameters were determined for NMR analysis and diffuse reflectance spectroscopy (DRIFTS), a technique that is usually applied to solid materials but was shown to yield good quality spectra for these samples. Correlations were found between NMR and FTIR results for the aromaticity index, a structural parameter widely used in the study of mesophase formation in pitches, as well as between C/H ratios and the aromaticity index. Other structural parameters of interest were also obtained.
decant oil; nuclear magnetic resonance; FTIR; diffuse reflectance
