The Generalized Phase Behavior of Paraffin-Tetralin-Bitumen Systems

The addition of paraffin hydrocarbons to a solution of bitumen in tetralin will cause partial separation of the bitumen. Increasing the paraffin concentration will increase the separation of bitumen providing a second liquid phase characterized by high solvency for bitumen does not form. A maximum in the bitumen separation is thus obtained at the paraffin concentration corresponding to the formation of this second liquid phase. An increase in temperature generally results in a decreased separation of bitumen. These complex phase behaviors have been investigated for the addition of methane, n-pentane, and decane to a restricted bitumen-tetralin system.