Patent ID: 9353317
Filing Date: 2016-05-31
CPC Classification: B01D,B01J,C10G,G01N

Claim Text:
1. A method comprising the steps of: establishing a hydrocarbon into and as part of a first solvent mobile phase, said hydrocarbon including saturates, asphaltenes, a resins fraction that includes highly polar aromatic components and additional resins components, and an aromatics fraction that includes aromatics that are not highly polar; passing said first solvent mobile phase over an inert stationary phase; precipitating substantially all of said asphaltenes within said inert stationary phase to generate precipitated asphaltenes; subsequently passing said first solvent mobile phase over a non-porous, high surface energy, adsorptive stationary phase to reversibly adsorb substantially all of said highly polar aromatic components of said resins fraction from said first solvent mobile phase onto said non-porous, high surface energy, adsorptive stationary phase, thereby preventing irreversible adsorption of said substantially all of said highly polar aromatic components onto a porous, active stationary phase established downflow of said non-porous, high surface energy, adsorptive stationary phase; subsequently passing said first solvent mobile phase over said porous, active stationary phase; reversibly adsorbing substantially all of said aromatics fraction onto said porous, active stationary phase; eluting substantially all of said saturates; passing an asphaltene solvent over said inert stationary phase; and eluting at least a portion of said asphaltenes, wherein said first solvent mobile phase is without said precipitated asphaltenes during performance of said step of subsequently passing said first solvent mobile phase over a non-porous, high surface energy, adsorptive stationary phase.