Abstract: Toluene insoluble matter (TIM) in coker heavy gas oil (CHGO) from oil sands bitumen is
harmful to the downstream hydrotreating, and it may be difficult to be removed by
conventional filtration. In order to determine its origin, the TIM must first be separated
from CHGO for characterization. Two techniques are described to accomplish this goal. In
the ultra-centrifugation approach used in this work, CHGO is blended with a miscible liquid
and centrifuged under 366000 G (gravity) force. Through this procedure toluene and hexane
diluents yielded TIM contents of 24μg.g-1 and 88μg.g-1 respectively. In an alternative
simplified procedure, the initial ultracentrifugation step is omitted. Several different
solvents are evaluated for use as diluents but, in each case, toluene is still used in the
subsequent washing steps. TIM contents determined by this method range from 23 to about
Other conditions, such as diluent-oil ratio, water-oil ratio, mixing time, temperature and
water pH value, are also studied.

Key words: separation, toluene insoluble matter, coker heavy gas oil

摘要： Toluene insoluble matter (TIM) in coker heavy gas oil (CHGO) from oil sands bitumen is
harmful to the downstream hydrotreating, and it may be difficult to be removed by
conventional filtration. In order to determine its origin, the TIM must first be separated
from CHGO for characterization. Two techniques are described to accomplish this goal. In
the ultra-centrifugation approach used in this work, CHGO is blended with a miscible liquid
and centrifuged under 366000 G (gravity) force. Through this procedure toluene and hexane
diluents yielded TIM contents of 24μg.g-1 and 88μg.g-1 respectively. In an alternative
simplified procedure, the initial ultracentrifugation step is omitted. Several different
solvents are evaluated for use as diluents but, in each case, toluene is still used in the
subsequent washing steps. TIM contents determined by this method range from 23 to about
Other conditions, such as diluent-oil ratio, water-oil ratio, mixing time, temperature and
water pH value, are also studied.

关键词: separation;toluene insoluble matter;coker heavy gas oil