MILD ELECTROLYTIC REDUCTION OF ASPHALTENES

ABSTRACT Adsorption chromatography together with GPC have shown that the reduction of both bitumen and coal derived asphaltenes produces tower m.w. material with concurrent appearance of small amounts of higher m.w. components. The lower m.w. components could be separated into saturated and aromatic hydrocarbons and oxygenated material. In the case of coal derived asphaltenes some basic material could also be found. Polarography and cyclic voltaircnetry showed that oxidation/reduction processes occurred for the products of preparatively electroreduced asphaltenes but failed to identify the nature of the acceptors involved.