Isolation of Porphyrins from Heavy Oil Objects

The chapter describes the opportunities of extracting porphyrins by polar solvents (acetone, N,N-dimethylformamide (DMF), isopropanol, and acetonitrile) and sulfuric acid from various highly molecular petroleum fractions and residues. It has been found that the predissolution of petroleum objects such as asphaltenes and resins in aromatic solvents allows improving the extraction of porphyrins by means of reducing their association with polycondensed heteroatomic structures. Based on the absorption spectra and mass spectra, primary types of porphyrins in obtained extracts were revealed. The distinctions between porphyrin extractions in resins and asphaltenes were revealed. Sulfuric acid extraction allows producing highly concentrated primary extracts of demetallated porphyrins. The share of porphyrin fractions in obtained extractions was 13.0–24.2 wt%, which depends on the concentration of metal porphyrins in initial asphaltenes and resins