Hydrocarbon Addition Reactions during Low-Temperature Autoxidation of Oilsands Bitumen

Low-temperature oxidation of bitumen with air in the temperature range of 130–160 °C was investigated. Of particular interest were the addition reactions taking place during oxidation, which contributed to the observed increase in viscosity of oxidized bitumen. During the autoxidation of bitumen, the relative aliphatic to aromatic loss-ratio of hydrogen increased from 18:1 to 30:1 when the temperature was increased from 140 °C to 150 °C and then remained almost the same at 160 °C. It coincided with a bitumen oxidation selectivity change reported in the literature. The hydrocarbon class responsible for most addition reactions during bitumen oxidation is the naphthenic-aromatic class. A model compound oxidation study at 130 °C found no addition products during paraffin oxidation, low addition product selectivity for naphthenic and alkylaromatic compounds, and no measurable oxidation of aromatics without alkyl groups. It was proposed that the dominant pathway for addition reactions of hydrocarbons is hydrogen disproportionation of free radicals to produce olefins. Free-radical addition to olefins through the formation of C–C bonds explained all of the oxidation selectivity observations from the model compound studies, as well as the addition products identified from their mass spectra. It could also be applied to explain the bitumen oxidation results in these and other studies