Comprehensive Characterization of Crude Oil and Bitumen Using Complementary GC1, GC2, and GPC Chromatographic Techniques

Characterizing hydrocarbon mixtures such as crude oils, bitumen, and vacuum residues is essential for optimizing recovery processes, upgrading strategies, and transportation. Accurate determination of boiling point behavior and molecular weight distributions is fundamental to achieving these goals. Therefore, developing a simple, fast, and consistent characterization method is crucial to obtaining this information effectively. This study introduces an integrated characterization approach that combines gas chromatography (GC1), simulated distillation (GC2), and gel permeation chromatography (GPC) to achieve comprehensive compositional and molecular weight profiling of crude oil and bitumen samples across the full carbon spectrum (C1 to C100+). The proposed workflow overcomes key limitations of traditional characterization methods while covering a full range of petroleum samples, including live crude oils and highly complex bitumen matrices. The developed characterization method was validated using known standard oil samples. Subsequently, the technique was successfully applied to determine molecular weight distributions of crude oils and bitumen, encompassing a wide range of API gravities, from light to extra-heavy petroleum samples. This methodology also enables precise determination of the solvent content in oil/bitumen samples containing water, eliminating errors commonly associated with solvent loss during dewatering.