Composition comprising a concentrate of natural asphaltene in fluxing oil suitable for use in preparing asphalt blends

Abstract

The present disclosure relates to compositions comprising uintaite in a concentrated liquid form, and methods for producing the concentrated liquid uintaite. The composition can include uintaite in vegetable oils, paraffinic oils, naphthenic oils, and combinations thereof. The composition may include 50-90% by mass of a first component and 10-50% by mass of a second component, wherein the first component comprises uintaite, and wherein the second component comprises one or more oils.

Claims

1. A composition, comprising: 50-90% by mass of a first component and 10-50% by mass of a second component, wherein the first component comprises uintaite, and wherein the second component comprises one or more oils and an ester, wherein a carboxylic acid moiety of the ester comprises one or more epoxide functional groups.

2. The composition of claim 1, wherein the first component comprises 50-100% by mass of uintaite.

3. The composition of claim 1, wherein the first component comprises 55-85% by mass of uintaite and 15-45% by mass of vacuum tower bottoms.

4. The composition of claim 1, wherein the one or more oils is selected from the group consisting of vegetable oils, paraffinic oils, naphthenic oils, and combinations thereof.

5. The composition of claim 1, wherein the second component further comprises up to 5% by mass of the fatty acid ester.

6. The composition of claim 1, wherein the first component comprises 60-80% by mass of the composition, and the second component comprises 20-40% by mass of the composition.

7. The composition of claim 6, wherein the first component comprises 55-85% by mass of uintaite and 15-45% by mass vacuum tower bottoms.

8. The composition of claim 1, wherein the first component comprises 65-75% by mass of the composition, and the second component comprises 35-25% by mass of the composition.

9. The composition of claim 8, wherein the first component comprises 55-85% by mass of uintaite and 15-45% by mass vacuum tower bottoms.

10. The composition of claim 1, wherein the second component comprises 40-60% by mass of vegetable oils and 60-40% by mass of paraffinic or naphthenic oil, or a combination thereof.

11. The composition of claim 10, wherein the second component further comprises up to 5% by mass of the ester.

12. The composition of claim 1, comprising: 75-85% by mass of the first component; and 15-25% by mass of the second component, wherein the first component comprises 48-52% by mass uintaite and 52-48% by mass vacuum tower bottoms, and wherein the second component comprises 42-45% by mass paraffinic and/or naphthenic oil, 49-53% by mass vegetable oil, and 3-9% by mass of the ester.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

(1) Various features and advantageous details are explained more fully with reference to the non-limiting embodiments that are illustrated in the accompanying drawing and detailed in the following description. It should be understood, however, that the detailed description and the specific examples, while indicating embodiments of the invention, are given by way of illustration only, and not by way of limitation. Various substitutions, modifications, additions, and/or rearrangements will become apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art from this disclosure.

(2) In the following description, numerous specific details are provided to provide a thorough understanding of the disclosed embodiments. One of ordinary skill in the relevant art will recognize, however, that the invention may be practiced without one or more of the specific details, or with other methods, components, materials, and so forth. In other instances, well-known structures, materials, or operations are not shown or described in detail to avoid obscuring aspects of the invention.

(3) A liquid uintaite composition may be prepared using standard high-speed mixing equipment by blending all the liquid components together, while heating to a temperature of about 165° C. Thereafter, the uintaite powder is added in portions, with stirring until a smooth and homogeneous mixture is obtained. Thereafter, the rotational viscosity of the concentrate can be measured using equipment well known to those skilled in the art of handling liquid asphalt materials. Preferably, the uintaite powder is added in 6-12 additions, equally spaced in time, with the composition stirred at a temperature range of at least about 165° C., but below 200° C., until the uintaite is fully digested into the composition. Using a Brookfield viscometer to measure rotational viscosity, it is preferable that the rotational viscosity of the concentrate be less than about 3500 cps at 177° C., and more preferably less than about 2500 cps at 177° C. Most preferably, the rotational viscosity is less than 2000 cps at 177° C.

(4) Once produced, the uintaite concentrate of the current invention can be used to prepare asphalt blends with improved elevated temperature shear strength for Performance Graded (PG) asphalt binders. For example, 5-15% by mass of the concentrate of the current invention, depending on specific composition used, can be added to a base asphalt to increase its Performance Grade (PG) by 3 to 10° C. according to the Strategic Highway Research Program (SHRP) methodology for grading asphalt binders. Addition of each 1% by mass of uintaite, added to a base asphalt, will increase the elevated temperature PG grade of the base asphalt by at least about 0.6° C. Preferably, when the base asphalt is tested for low temperature creep properties using the Bending Beam Rheometer (BBR), the loss of Performance Grade (PG) is less than 0.1° C. for each 1% by mass of uintaite added. Thus, the use of a uintaite concentrate made according to the current invention can beneficially increase the PG performance range of an asphalt binder, providing improved performance across an expanded temperature range.

(5) The compositions disclosed herein can also be used to prepare asphalt binders especially suitable for preparing asphalt emulsions with relatively stiff, or low needle penetration residue properties, while at the same time resisting settlement in storage. The use of preferable soft components facilitate the ease of emulsification of the asphalt binders that contain a portion of the uintaite concentrates. The hard component of the composition provides for improved stiffness and reduced needle penetration of the resulting asphalt emulsion residues. The soft component of the composition provides for ease of emulsification, and propensity for the emulsions to remain stable against settlement in storage.

Examples

(6) Table 1 below shows several compositions prepared according to the current invention to illustrate the benefits associated therein. Table 1 also shows several compositions for comparative purposes that fall outside the preferable range of compositions.

(7) Example 1 is provided for comparison purposes and shows a composition with a hard component that exceeds 80% of the total mass of the composition. In addition, Example 1 does not contain any functionalized alkyl ester of a fatty acid, which is preferred to achieve ideal solubility of the uintaite. Example 1 produced a concentrate that had excess rotational viscosity and showed evidence of non-homogeneity.

(8) Example 2 is also provided for comparison purposes and shows a composition in which the hard component is comprised of 100% by mass of uintaite (no VTB). This concentrate also showed excessive rotational viscosity and indications of non-homogeneity.

(9) Example 3 provides a formula for a uintaite concentrate with hard component comprising 75% by mass of the overall composition, but the soft component does not include a functionalized alkyl ester of a fatty acid. This concentrate showed elevated rotational viscosity.

(10) TABLE-US-00001 TABLE 1 Examples of Concentrates Composition of Uintaite Concentrates* Soft Component Paraffinic or Function- Hard Component Vegetable Naphthenic alized EXAMPLE Uintaite VTB Oil Oil Methyl Ester 1 75 8 9 8 0 2 75 0 24 0 1 3 65 11 11 13 0 4 60 13 12 14 1 5 40 33 12 14 1 6 55 10 0 35 0 7 40 42 9 8 1 8 40 39 11 9 1 *Percent by mass of total composition

(11) In Examples 4 and 5, the total hard component of the composition is less than 75% by mass, and both Examples have hard components comprised of both uintaite and VTB. In addition, both Examples 4 and 5 contain an additive comprising a functionalized alkyl ester of a fatty acid. Both Example 4 and 5 showed acceptable rotational viscosity below 2500 cps at 177° C. and were homogeneous.

(12) Example 6 contains 65% by mass total hard component and contains only paraffinic oil. Example 6 does not contain a functionalized alkyl ester of a fatty acid, but at a relatively lower hard component content, the composition shows acceptable solvation of the uintaite and a lack of non-homogeneity.

(13) Table 2 below shows the rotational viscosity of the Example 1-6 concentrates, as well as the performance of the concentrates when used to increase the Performance Grading (PG) performance temperature range of asphalt blends.

(14) Comparative examples 1, 2, and 3 were deemed to have excessively high rotational viscosities, making them difficult to handle and not preferred as blending materials for PG graded asphalts. Examples 4, 5, and 6 illustrate the performance of compositions made according to the current invention in terms of their ability to increase the PG range of asphalt blends, while having a relatively low rotational viscosity allowing for ease of use. In all cases, the preferred compositions demonstrate an ability to increase the elevated temperature PG grade of the asphalt more than 0.5° C. for each 1% by mass of added uintaite. The examples made according to the current invention decrease the low temperature PG performance by no more than 0.1° C. for each 1% by mass of added uintaite. The net effect of using the compositions according to the current invention as embodied in Examples 4, 5, and 6 is to provide a net increase in the PG temperature performance range of the asphalt blends thus prepared.

(15) TABLE-US-00002 TABLE 2 Viscosity and Performance Grading (PG) Data of Asphalt Blends Prepared from Example Concentrates 1-8 Rotational High Low Rotational Viscosity Temperature Temperature Viscosity Temperature PG Gain (° C.) PG Loss (° C.) Example (cPs) (° C.) per % Uintaite per % Uintaite 1 6550 191 Too Too Viscous/Non- Viscous/Non- homogeneous homogeneous 2 4125 177 Too Too Viscous/Non- Viscous/Non- homogeneous homogeneous 3 4300 177 Too viscous Too viscous 4 1847 177 0.62 0.10 5 1985 149 0.54 0.06 6 1200 177 0.98 0.05 7 2700 149 0.84 Not tested 8 2887 149 0.88 Not tested

(16) Table 3 below shows two Examples of Asphalt Emulsions prepared from compositions of uintaite with fluxing oils. Examples 9 and 10 were prepared by diluting Example 3 with additional base asphalt to prepare an asphalt emulsion base having relatively high stiffness (low needle penetration). Both Examples 9 and 10 provide asphalt bases having a needle penetration value of 25 dmm at 25° C. Asphalt seal coats, and other similar pavement coatings, show enhanced resistance to scuffing under shear when the asphalt has high stiffness (low penetration) values. It is often difficult to prepare stable asphalt emulsions from asphalts having such low penetration values. For Examples 9 and 10, both resulting asphalt emulsions were very stable, had high residue (solids content) and acceptable viscosity, indicating an emulsion with small particle size of the dispersed asphalt phase. The combination of hard and soft components provide a chemical composition having rheological properties that yield stable emulsions from asphalt bases with unusually high stiffness (low penetration) values.

(17) TABLE-US-00003 TABLE 3 Examples of Asphalt Emulsions Prepared from Compositions of the Current Invention Uintaite Base Resulting Concentrated Asphalt Asphalt Used Used Penetration Asphalt (Mass % (Mass % Value (dmm, Emulsion Example of Blend) of Blend) 25° C.) Properties 9 Example 3 Midwest 25 0% Sieve; 63.3% (29%) PG 64-22 Residue; Viscosity (71%) 77° F., (sfs) = 31; No settlement at 4 days 10 Example 3 East Coast 25 0% Sieve; 62.7% (35%) PG 64-22 Residue; Viscosity (65%) 77° F. (sfs) = 28; No settlement at 4 days

(18) When using the alternative method for producing liquid uintaite, the liquid base for Example 7 had a rotational viscosity of 8596 cPs at 140° F., prior to addition of the uintaite powder. Likewise, the liquid base for Example 8 had a rotational viscosity of 8925 cPs at 140° F. and a needle penetration value of 82 dmm at 35° F., prior to addition of the uintaite powder. These measurements are within the specification ranges set forth for this alternative means of producing a liquid concentrate of uintaite, and the resulting properties given in Table 2 show that the compositions are suitable for use as an asphalt modifier.

(19) The claims are not to be interpreted as including means-plus- or step-plus-function limitations, unless such a limitation is explicitly recited in a given claim using the phrase(s) “means for” or “step for,” respectively.