Comparative Study of the Compositional Characteristics of Liquids Derived by Hydrotreating of Nigerian Tar Sand Bitumen. I. Simulated Distillation

Nigerian tar sand bitumen was hydrotreated at relatively low temperatures and initial hydrogen pressures. The liquid products derived from the hydrotreating process were characterized by the means of instrumental analysis of simulated distillation on gas chromatography. Results show that the liquid products are amenable to the characterization procedure and provided basic data that should be useful in formulating refining processes for Nigerian tar sand bitumen and the liquids derived from its hydrotreating operations. The liquids show differences in products distribution for different temperature but have almost identical structures for same temperatures and different pressures. Generally, increase in temperature caused an increase in conversion of bitumen to distillable products. The characterization data of the derived liquid products will serve as a basis for the identification of processes for upgrading bitumen and such other fossil fuels like coal liquids or heavy vacuum residua.