ABSTRACT

Hansen solubility parameters (HSP) are shown to be a useful new tool for understanding compatibility relations among bitumens and crude oils. Bitumen and crude oils are complex mixtures of hydrocarbons which are kept in solution mainly by their mutual solubility. They are not colloidal dispersions as previously thought. Although the solubility of the hydrocarbons is mainly determined by the dispersive interactions, it is not possible to make correct estimates of their stability without also taking polar interactions and hydrogen-bonding interactions into consideration. HSP have proven their ability to give a good estimate of the stability of bitumen and/or crude oil having different origins in relation to solvents and polymers. Relations between the HSP of different materials is visualized using 3D plots showing the HSP as ellipsoids. A more precise determination of the extension of the ellipsoids can be found by turbidimetric titrations with three different titrants, each representing a direction in the HSP space, respectively. It is now possible with the help of simple laboratory experiments to predict the consequences of different courses of action, thus eliminating expensive trial and error testing.