Science
Related: About this forumUtilizing the 21 Tesla Magnet at the National High Magnetic Field Lab to Characterize Asphaltenes.
The papers I'll discuss in this post are the two parts of papers appearing recently in the scientific journal Energy and Fuels.
They are: Probing Aggregation Tendencies in Asphaltenes by Gel Permeation Chromatography. Part 1: Online Inductively Coupled Plasma Mass Spectrometry and Offline Fourier Transform Ion Cyclotron Resonance Mass Spectrometry (Marshall et al., Energy and Fuels, Energy Fuels 2020, 34, 7, 83088315)...
...and...
Probing Aggregation Tendencies in Asphaltenes by Gel Permeation Chromatography. Part 2: Online Detection by Fourier Transform Ion Cyclotron Resonance Mass Spectrometry and Inductively Coupled Plasma Mass Spectrometry (Marshall et al., Energy and Fuels, Energy Fuels 2020, 34, 9, 1091510925).
This journal's papers are generally overwhelmingly about dangerous fossil fuels. Anyone with a passive knowledge of my often turgid writings will be aware that I oppose the use of all dangerous fossil fuels and believe they must be phased out as quickly as possible on an emergency basis. I nonetheless regularly read this journal for several reasons. One is that while I favor largely doing away with the car CULTure - something of a hard sell I freely admit - there are certain materials, including to be perfectly honest, fuels, that cannot be ethically banned while respecting human development goals, that are obtained from dangerous fossil fuels. Thus to maintain access to these materials while simultaneously banning the mining of dangerous fossil fuels, we must understand what these materials are and how they can be either manufactured or replaced without the use of dangerous fossil fuels themselves. Of particular importance are "cokes" which are carbonaceous materials used widely in the reduction of metal ores, either in thermal settings (as in Bessamer furnaces in the steel industry) or as electrodes in Hall Heroult and FFC processes. The second reason is that many papers, especially those in the (generally smaller) section related to biomass offer insights to the now necessary goal of removing carbon dioxide from the air. A third reason is that there is generally a section in this journal connected with the capture of carbon dioxide. Although these are largely addressed to the quixotic idea of giant underground dangerous fossil fuel waste dumps (aka "sequestering" ) they are also relevant to more sane means of addressing climate change. A final reason is that often these papers just contain good science.
The papers under discussion here are largely directed to problems in the dangerous fossil fuel industry, in particular, the dangerous petroleum industry, but they are relevant actually to many of the reasons I gave above. For example, in the case of removing carbon dioxide from the air: In the high temperature reformation of biomass, it is often the case that "tars" are formed; these are in fact, asphaltenes, close to those found in dangerous crude petroleum. Although asphaltenes are problematic - very problematic - in industrial equipment, they are widely used as the familiar product asphalt, generally an aggregate of sand and asphaltenes. Thus, were we to pave roads, bicycle paths and walkways with asphaltenes obtained from the reformation of biomass, we would be removing carbon dioxide from the air and effectively sequestering in an economically viable manner. Indeed, as we will see below, asphaltenes can be regarded, in part, as fragmented graphene, and a deeper understanding of their chemistry can lead to new insights in materials science. Finally this paper utilizes one of the tremendous resources built in an era when the US government was more committed to science rather than racism, corruption, lies, hypocrisy, the subjugation and denigration of women, power grabbing and the spreading of diseases as it is today in the Senate and Administration. The National High Magnetic Field Laboratory at Florida State University is a tremendous scientific resource.
The introduction of Part 1 of the two part series:
Linking molecular structure to aggregation potential requires detailed molecular level information. On a bulk scale, asphaltenes are more aromatic and contain more polar compounds than their parent crude oils. However, recent works have started to illuminate the importance of wax-like interactions between more aliphatic compounds that may contribute to asphaltene aggregation. Unstable asphaltenes have also been shown to have higher binding capacities for alkanes and waxes.(7) Berrueco et al. observed a correlation between decreases in fluorescence intensity and UV absorbance in the largest, excluded molecular weight regime of GPC fractions from asphaltenes, petroleum pitch, and coal-derived materials.(8−10) They hypothesized that compounds in the largest, excluded GPC peak may be larger and more aliphatic.(10) Characterization by Fourier transform ion cyclotron resonance mass spectrometry (FT-ICR-MS) for GPC aggregate fractions collected from a typical atmospheric residue revealed a surprisingly strong correlation between nanoaggregation potential and decreased aromaticity.(11) Large, very aliphatic compounds with extremely low ionization efficiencies comprised the largest, most aggregated fractions...
... Trace metals present in crude oils also complicate refinery processes by potentially deactivating hydrotreatment and hydrocracking catalysts. Vanadium, nickel, and iron are typically the most abundant metals found in petroleum products. Structurally, these metals are incorporated into heterocyclic macrocycles with four modified pyrrole subunits, known as porphyrins.(17,18) The forces driving asphaltene aggregation are not well understood: although metal-containing petroporphyrins are greatly enriched in precipitated asphaltenes, the nature of their involvement is unknown.(19) To probe the forces driving asphaltene aggregation in a laboratory, gel permeation chromatography (GPC) acts as a proxy for real-world aggregation. However, it is not entirely clear how well on-column nanoaggregation mimics that of asphaltene aggregation in the field.
Inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) coupled with GPC yields quantitative chromatograms, commonly called size distributions or size profiles, for individual elements. For porphyrinic metals like vanadium and nickel, GPC chromatograms generally yield trimodal/multimodal aggregate size profiles sufficiently unique to act as fingerprints for petroleum samples.(20,21)...
Two of the most important analytical tools in chemistry, NMR and mass spectrometry, depend on magnetic fields. The absolute most sensitive mass spectrometers in the world, those with the highest mass resolution, are Fourier Transform Ion Cyclotron Resonance Mass Spectrometers, and a major manufacturer of these is Bruker, which is the company that built the 21 Tesla magnet at the Lab. The use of this magnet in mass spectrometry allows for the most sensitive analysis ever conducted anywhere.
The authors continue:
Aromaticity in chemistry refers to a quantum chemical effect in which a ring system contains (2n+2) "pi" electrons where n is an integer including zero. Aromatic rings are stabilized when compared to non aromatic systems of carbon atoms, the latter being termed "aliphatic" above. (The size of the ring also contributes to aromaticity: An eight membered ring with 2 pi electrons is not aromatic, a three membered ring with two pi electrons is aromatic.) The degree to which a ring system is aromatic can be crudely examined (for very complex systems like asphaltenes) by considering "double bond equivalents" herein called "DBEs."
Besides carbon, asphaltenes also contain quantities of sulfur, nitrogen and oxygen. Under certain circumstances these atoms can donate electrons to a ring system, inducing a degree of aromaticity. For instance, furan, a five membered ring containing an oxygen, derivatives of which has been the subject of considerable attention in connection with biofuels made from non-food biomaterials, has a measurable degree aromaticity.
The asphaltenes were solvated in xylene, aromatic molecules which are a mixture of dimethylbenzenes, and subject to gel permeation chromatography (GPC) a chromatographic technique which separates molecules (somewhat crudely) on the basis of their molecular size, which generally correlates closely with molecular weight. The elution through the chromatograph columns utilized THF, tetrahydrofuran, which is made by hydrogenating furan, mentioned above, or by condensation of a product of the dangerous fossil fuel industry, butadiene. A small portion of the eluted asphaltenes were diverted to a commercial high resolution inductively coupled plasma (ICP) high resolution mass spectrometer designed to measure "heteroatoms," those atoms which are not carbon or hydrogen. These were used to monitor sulfur, using the isotope with a mass of 32, the most common sulfur isotope, presumably in such a way as to break up interfering O2 molecules, vanadium-51, the only stable isotope of this element, (natural vanadium is very slightly radioactive owing to the very rare radioactive isotope vanadium-50), and Nickel-58. It does not seem iron was monitored.
A word on why these metals are important in studying aggregation: Metals are known to complex with certain aromatic rings, in particular cyclopentadiene anions, but also with the molecules described above as porphyrins. The presence of porphyrins is definitely an artifact of the fact that the origin of most dangerous fossil fuels was from biomass; dangerous fossil fuels are stored solar energy. Porphyrins are very common in biological systems, two metal coordinating porphyrins are generally known by the general public. Chlorophyll contains a porphyrin structure coordinating magnesium, and hemoglobulin a porphyrin coordinating iron. (There are many other examples.) The authors remark that the fractions that are highly aggregated often contain metals, and part of their effort is to explore why this is.
Some pictures from the text of Part 1:
Sulfur, Vanadium and Nickel:
The caption:
In general, the heaviest molecules elute first in GCP.
The distribution and ratios of hetero atoms, sulfur, nitrogen and oxygen in the various fractions:
The caption:
The lower the ratio of hydrogen to carbon, the more aromatic character a molecule is likely to have:
The caption:
In general, asphaltenes, especially given their aromatic character, are difficult to ionize. A typical ionization technique - for which a Nobel Prize was awarded, is ESI - electrospray ionization - but in this case, another method, more suitable to the ionization of aromatics, APPI - atmospheric pressure photoionization by which the ionization is achieved by the use of very high energy ultraviolet radiation was utilized, owing the expected aromatic nature of asphaltenes. The ionization efficiency was obtained by recording the number of ions collected as a function of time:
The caption:
It is important to note the different scales on the y axes in the graphic above.
In the next series of graphics, the double bond equivalents within molecules within the fractions are represented. The closer this distribution - these in effect a three dimensional graphics where the third dimension is represented by color - lies to the red line in each graphic, the more highly aromatic these asphaltenes are:
The caption:
The caption:
To some extent, this data is a function of the analytical method.
The authors write:
In this case, the samples were collected by fractionation and analyzed by direct infusion. In part 2, the limitations of this procedure are addressed by the use of in line LC/MS/MS using the 21 Tesla magnet.
The conclusion of part 1:
Part 2 begins thus:
Despite the challenges associated with the analysis of asphaltenes, recent work has begun to reveal that waxlike interactions between more aliphatic compounds may play a more important role in asphaltene aggregation than previously known...
...Gel permeation chromatography (GPC) can help probe the forces driving asphaltene aggregation by acting as a proxy for studying aggregation in a laboratory. GPC is often coupled online with detection by inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP MS), thereby enabling the quantitative determination of individual elements. GPC ICP MS chromatograms are commonly termed size distributions or size profiles. Most commonly, sulfur is monitored along with the most abundant heavy metals in petroleum products (vanadium, nickel, and iron). Heavy metals are of interest due to their potential to deactivate hydrotreatment and hydrocracking catalysts during upgrading and refinery processes. Vanadium, nickel, and iron exist structurally in petroleum as porphyrins (heterocyclic macrocycles with four modified pyrrole subunits).(20,21) Metal-containing petroporphyrins are enriched in precipitated asphaltenes, but their exact role in asphaltene aggregation is unknown.(22) GPC ICP MS chromatograms for porphyrinic metals typically exhibit multimodal/trimodal aggregate size distributions that provide fingerprints for petroleum samples.(23,24)...
...In the analysis of complex mixtures, especially asphaltenes, ionization biases arise from differences in ionization efficiencies and aggregation tendencies, resulting in the preferential detection of the species that ionize most efficiently. Chromatographic separations help to overcome ionization biases by simplifying the sample matrix,(2,30) but just as important is the choice of ionization method. Positive-ion atmospheric pressure photoionization ((+)APPI) is widely thought to be the most compatible method for asphaltenes.(5,31,32) Despite the well-known ionization biases of aromatic compounds, APPI ionizes more uniformly compared to electrospray, which is why it was selected for this study,(5,33) which is the second installment of a study that investigates the aggregation tendencies and molecular composition of the PetroPhase 2017 asphaltene sample by use of GPC. In part 1, GPC aggregate fractions were collected from the PetroPhase 2017 asphaltene sample and analyzed by direct infusion.(34) Monomer ion yields and aggregation state were strongly correlated. The asphaltene fractions that were most aggregated ionized ∼1000 times less efficiently than the least aggregated fractions in the whole crude oil...
And a rationale for the improvement at 21 Tesla:
From the experimental section, the mass resolution that would make any mass spectrometrist weep with envy:
Resolution envy is a terrible vice.
This mass resolution is basically an order of magnitude greater than the very best common commercial instruments.
Some pictures from the text:
The caption:
The caption:
TIC is "total ion current" a measure of the number of ions being recorded in a unit of elution time. The N4 focus is particularly important to represent porphyrins, which are macrocyclic rings with 4 internal rings, each of which contains one nitrogen.
More N4 related stuff:
The caption:
Some data on the presence of sulfur, and an unexpected finding with respect to ππ stacking:
The caption:
Some more along these lines:
The caption:
The caption:
The caption:
Some commentary from the paper in connection with figure 8:
This suggests that the bigger asphaltenes are not actually graphene like fragments.
Figure 8:
The caption:
The caption:
The caption:
The following is the cartoon from the abstract page that kind of "rubs it in" about the incredible mass resolution observed with this instrument.
The overall conclusion from this two part work:
Sigh...
I have to admit that as much as I hate dangerous fuels and want them banned as quickly as is humanly and humanely possible, I certainly took pleasure in reading this paper about a problem in the dangerous fossil fuel industry, and, in any case, as noted in the turgid and highly esoteric text above, I see asphaltenes as a potential means to sequester carbon dioxide removed from the air via biomass.
It is important to note that this very powerful instrument can do many incredible things other than to address problems in the dangerous fossil fuel industry. The National High Magnetic Field Laboratory can serve to solve many intractable biological problems, in particular those associated with human disease, as well as addressing many severe environmental problems.
In these times of public insanity, it is wonderful to take a break and recognize that great scientific tools still exist and have yet to be wrecked along with our Constitution and our Country.
Have a nice evening.