Gilsonite or Asphaltum is a natural asphaltitic resinous hydrocarbon found in western Iran in 1930.
This natural asphaltite is a heavy hydrocarbon and is often referred to as natural asphalt, asphalt, uintaite or asphalt.
Gilsonite is soluble in aromatic and aliphatic solvents, as well as petroleum bitumen. Due to its unique compatibility, Gilsonite is often used to harden
Gilsonite for the most part is a shiny, black substance that outwardly resembles the mineral obsidian. It is brittle and can easily be crushed into a dark brown powder.
Gilsonite is found below the surface of the earth in vertical veins or seams. They are typically two to six feet wide, but can be as wide as 28 feet. The seams run almost parallel to each other and are oriented from northwest to southeast. They expand many miles in length and 1,500 feet in depth. The seams appear on the surface in the form of a thin layer and gradually widen as they move in depth.
Due to limited slaughter, Gilsonite is mined today as it was 50 or 100 years ago. The main difference is that modern miners use pneumatic jackhammers and mechanical winches.
Story
The mineral, now known as Gilsonite or Asphaltum, was discovered in the early 1860s but was unknown until the mid-1880s when Samuel Gilson proposed its use for waterproof coatings, as insulation for wire cables, and as a unique varnish.
The promotion of ore by S. Gilson was so successful that in 1888 he and a partner formed the first company to sell Gilsonite on an industrial scale. Gilsonite was originally marketed as Selects and Fines. The ore with a low softening point and a conchoidal fracture was known as "Select". The higher softening point ore was known as "Fiennes". Select was more expensive than Fiennes due to its higher purity, good solubility and benefits for the paint and varnish industry.
Time and technology have changed this classification system. Gilsonite processing now removes most of the inert impurities, and new, more efficient solvents have made the higher softening points interesting to the consumer. Today Gilsonite is graded by softening point (a rough measure of solubility) and particle size. By all accounts, the quality of Gilsonite today is much higher than those first small quantities of raw Gilsonite sold in the 1880s.
Gilsonite Compatibility
Gilsonite is compatible with microcrystalline and paraffin waxes, petroleum resins and oils, rosins, tall oil, vegetable oils (flaxseed, soybean, etc.), petroleum process oils and petroleum bitumen.
Compatible with commercial resins
The following is a general guide to the compatibility of Gilsonite in common film-forming and elastomeric systems. Since the compatibility of Gilsonite can be influenced by changes within the resin / elastomer class and other components in the formulation, it is good practice to test the compatibility of Gilsonite in a specific formula of interest.
All About Gilsonite
Gilsonite is a natural combustible material composed mainly of the elements hydrogen and carbon. It also contains small amounts of solid, liquid and gaseous hydrocarbons and / or other materials such as nitrogen, sulfur, phosphorus compounds.
Gilsonite is generally classified in the subgroup "bituminous materials". The physical, chemical and other properties of Gilsonite vary greatly from sample to sample.
The origin of Gilsonite
Gilsonite is often considered a heavy hydrocarbon and natural rock asphalt.
This name comes from the way Gilsonite was formed. When animals die, they usually decompose and turn into carbon dioxide, water, and other products that enter the environment. Little remains of a dead organism, except for a few bones.
However, at certain periods of earth's history, conditions existed that made possible other forms of decay. The bodies of dead animals underwent only partial decay.
Dictionary
Anthracite: Bituminous coal; form of coal with high heat content and high concentration of pure carbon.
Gilsonite: Softening point between 160 ~ 220 ° C. This form of coal has less heat and pure carbon than anthracite, but more than lignite (brown coal).
Coke: A synthetic fuel formed by heating soft coal in the absence of air.
Lignite: Brown coal; a form of coal with less heat and pure carbon than anthracite or bituminous coal.
Liquefaction: Any process that converts solid coal to liquid fuel.
Oxide: An inorganic compound in which one of the elements is oxygen in the -2 oxidation state.
Peat: The simplest form of coal with less heat and pure carbon than any other form of coal.
Gas production: A method for removing coal from seams located near the Earth's surface.
To illustrate how such changes might occur, consider the following perspective.
The animal dies in swampy areas and quickly becomes covered with water, silt, sand and other sediments. These materials prevent the interaction of plant residues with atmospheric oxygen and decomposition into carbon dioxide and water - a process that will occur under normal conditions. Instead, anaerobic bacteria attack animal remains and convert them into simpler forms: primarily pure hydrocarbon carbon and simple carbon and hydrogen compounds (hydrocarbons). The initial stage of decay of a dead animal is weak. In some parts of the world, they are still harvested from wetlands and used as fuel. However, this is not a very good fuel, because it does not burn well and produces a lot of smoke. If Gilsonite remains in the ground for an extended period of time, it will eventually compact. Above it, layers of sediment are formed, known as overburden. The additional pressure and heat from the overburden gradually transforms the gilsonite into another form of bitumen known as natural asphalt. Continued compaction then converts the material to bituminous (soft) natural asphalt and finally, sometimes to hard gilsonite.
Gilsonite composition
Gilsonite is classified according to its purity and softening point.
For example, anthracite contains high amounts of pure carbon (86 to 98%) and has the highest heat content (13,500 - 15,600 BTU / lb BTU / lb) of all forms of coal.
Bituminous coal typically has lower pure carbon concentrations (46 to 86%) and lower heat content (8,300 to 15,600 BTU / lb), but it is a combination of hydrocarbons and high nitrogen content.
Bituminous stone asphalts are often classified based on their calorific value - classified as low, medium and high volatility bituminous asphalts, and sub-bituminous.
Lignite (lignite) is the poorest coal in terms of calorific value (5500 - 8300 BTU / lb), typically 46 to 60% pure carbon.
All forms of coal also contain other elements found in living organisms such as sulfur and nitrogen. The absolute value of their content is very small, but they have important environmental consequences when coal is used as a fuel.