Asphalt ridge tar sands characterization

The search for rational energy alternatives to petroleum is research intensive. An estimated 25 billion barrels of fossil fuel lies locked in the tar sand deposits of Utah. One of the primary steps in the development of recovery technology of tar sand bitumen is chemical and structural characterization or analysis of the bitumen. The means by which the ultimate fractions are derived is very relevant to the characteristics of such fractions. A separation scheme common to coal liquids has been applied to the bitumen from Asphalt Ridge Tar Sands. The resulting fractions were then characterized by CHN analysis and proton and carbon-I) magnetic resonance spectroscopy.