Characterization of chemical composition of high viscosity heavy oils: Macroscopic properties, and semi-quantitative analysis of molecular composition using high-resolution mass spectrometry

Heavy oil is an important resource in current petroleum exploitation, and the chemical composition information of heavy oil is crucial for revealing its viscosity-inducing mechanism and solving practical exploitation issues. In this study, the techniques of high-temperature gas chromatography and high-resolution mass spectrometry equipped with an electrospray ionization source were applied to reveal the chemical composition of typical heavy oils from western, central, and eastern China. The results indicate that these heavy oils display significant variations in their bulk properties, with initial boiling points all above 200 °C. Utilizing pre-treatment and ESI high-resolution mass spectrometry, an analysis of the molecular composition of saturated hydrocarbons, aromatic hydrocarbons, acidic oxygen compounds, sulfur compounds, basic nitrogen compounds, and neutral nitrogen compounds within the heavy oil was conducted. Ultimately, a semi-quantitative analysis of the molecular composition of the heavy oil was achieved by integrating the elemental content. The semi-quantitative analysis results of Shengli-J8 heavy oil and a conventional Shengli crude oil show that Shengli-J8 heavy oil lacks alkanes and low molecular weight aromatic hydrocarbons, which contributes to its high viscosity. Additionally, characteristic molecular sets for different heavy oils were identified based on the semi-quantitative analysis of molecular composition. The semi-quantitative analysis of molecular composition in heavy oils may provide valuable reference data for establishing theoretical models on the viscosity-inducing mechanism in heavy oils and designing viscosity-reducing agents for heavy oil exploitation.