Characteristics of Asphaltenes Thin Film Extracted from Crude-Oil-Tank-Bottom-Sludge (COTBS)

Asphaltene from Crude-Oil-Tank-Bottom-Sludge (COTBS) was extracted using Soxhlet method. Extracted asphaltene was a mixture of powder with approximately ∼5 mm shiny chunks. Using elemental analysis, it was confirmed that the extraction resulted in asphaltene dominated by carbon and hydrogen, with 71 and 12 percentage weight, respectively. In thin film form, from ultraviolet - visible (UV-Vis) spectroscopy, its band gap was found to be 2.5 eV. The film, however, had voids and aggregations made visible through scanning electron microscope (SEM). The sheet resistance, resistivity and conductivity of the film were measured to be
$1.38\times 10^{11}\ \mathbf{\Omega}/\square,\ 2.21\times 10^{8}\ \mathbf{\Omega}.\mathbf{cm}$
and
$4.80\times 10^{-9}$
S/cm, respectively. From this preliminary data, unless its conductivity can be systematically engineered, it appears that the asphaltene thin film may only be suitable as an insulator.