Handbook of heavy oil properties and analysis [electronic resource] / James G. Speight, CD & W Inc., Laramie, WY, USA.

"Heavy oil including extra heavy oil and tar sand bitumen, collectively referred to as viscous oil, exhibit a wide range of physical properties. Numerous tests have been (and continue to be) developed to provide an indication of the means by which viscous oil should be processed. Furthermore, proper interpretation of the data resulting from the inspection of heavy oil requires an understanding of the significance of the analytical data. The need for the application of analytical techniques has increased over the past three decades because of the change in feedstock composition through the inclusion of viscous oil as a refinery feedstock. This has arisen because of the increased amounts of the heavier feedstocks that are now used to produce liquid products. Prior to the energy crises of the 1970s, the heavier feedstocks were shunned as sources of liquid fuels and were used to produce asphalt. Now these feedstocks have increased in value as sources of liquid fuels. The acceptance of these heavier feedstocks by refineries has meant that the analytical techniques used for the lighter feedstocks have had to evolve to produce meaningful data that can be employed to assist in defining refinery scenarios for processing the feedstocks. In addition, selection of the most appropriate analytical procedures will aid in the predictability of feedstock behavior during refining"-- Provided by publisher.