High Quality Asphalt Containing Pitch and Method of Preparing the Same

Abstract

A high quality asphalt containing pitch is generated as a by-product in a solvent deasphalting process and a method of preparing the same. The pitch is obtained by subjecting a mixture comprising a first vacuum residue and a first petroleum distillate, which is lighter than the vacuum residue and has high amounts of aromatic and resin, to solvent deasphalting. The operation conditions of the solvent deasphalting process are appropriately controlled, such that aromatic and resin components contained in the atmospheric residue and vacuum residue can be distributed to the pitch, and as well, a saturate can be removed.

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD[0001]The present invention relates, generally, to high quality asphalt containing pitch that is generated as a by-product in a solvent deasphalting process and a method of preparing the same, and more particularly, to high quality asphalt in which wax content and ductility after a thin film oven test are improved by mixing a typical vacuum residue with pitch that has a controlled chemical composition and is obtained from a mixture comprising an atmospheric residue and a petroleum distillate similar to the atmospheric residue using a solvent deasphalting unit, and to a method of preparing such high quality asphalt.BACKGROUND ART[0002]According to a conventional method of preparing asphalt using a vacuum distillation unit as shown in FIG. 1, an atmospheric residue produced using a crude distillation unit is subjected to a vacuum distillation process to separate a vacuum residue having controlled penetration, which is then directly produced into asphalt.[0003]The asphal...

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Benefits of technology

[0007]Leading to the present invention, intensive and thorough research on high quality asphalt and preparation methods thereof, carried out by the present inventors aiming to avoid the problems encountered upon direct production of a vacuum residue into high quality asphalt as mentioned above, resulted in the finding that a solvent deasphalting process is used to produce pitch having a controlled chemical composition, which is then mixed with a typical vacuum residue and a similar light petroleum distillate, thus producing high quality asphalt having superior wax content and ductility after a thin film oven test.

[0008]As object of the present invention is to provide high quality asphalt having superior wax content and ductility after a thin film oven test.

Problems solved by technology

However, because the price of the crude oil is a significant portion of the operating expense of refining plants, economic benefits may be undesirably negated.

In addition, direct production of the vacuum residue into high quality asphalt suffers because a vacuum gas oil produced along with the vacuum residue using the vacuum distillation unit is used as a feedstock of high-value processes such as hydrocracking and fluid catalytic cracking, undesirably causing low quality of relatively expensive vacuum gas oil or low yield upon operation of the vacuum distillation unit to ensure the quality of asphalt.

Upon vacuum distillation, since the vacuum gas oil and the vacuum residue are separated from each other due to the separation temperatures thereof, it is difficult to selectively increase the amounts of aromatic and resin in the vacuum residue from the point of view of the chemical structure in order to improve the wax content and ductility after a thin film oven test.

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