Molar mass is an essential property for the characterization of asphaltenes and one of the main input parameters in the models for the prediction of the precipitation. In the literature molar masses between 1,000 and 10,000 g.mol-1 for the asphaltenes are quoted, depending on the technique, petroleum origin, solvent nature and temperature. In this work the numerical average molar mass for two asphaltenes in toluene, the C7I (insoluble in heptane) and the C5I (insoluble in pentane), was determined by vapor pressure osmometry. The experimental data were evaluated taking into account effects of asphaltenes aggregation in solution and its larger dispersion at low concentrations. Mathematical fittings were also made to comply with the curve bias for infinite dilutions, which was aimed at finding more accurate values for the molar mass. The results found were compared with the conventional methods applied to the analysis of the vapor pressure osmometry and varied from 3,200 to 5,200 g.mol-1 for the C5I asphaltenes and from 4,100 to 5,400 g.mol-1 for C7I.
Molar mass; vapor pressure osmometry; asphaltenes; self-association
