Investigation of asphalt aging behaviour due to oxidation using molecular dynamics simulation

An attempt is made to connect the link between internal chemical and molecular mechanical property change and external physical, rheological and mechanical property change for asphalt before and after oxidative aging using molecular dynamics (MD) simulation. Intermolecular interactions, density, bulk modulus and zero shear viscosity changes of model asphalt systems before and after oxidative aging and mechanical property changes of the asphalt systems under different compressive and tensile stress rates are investigated at room temperature (298 K). Simulation results demonstrate that oxidised functional groups in asphalt molecules increase the strength of intermolecular bonds and the bulk modulus of asphalt, which further contribute to the hardening of the oxidised asphalt. The internal property change is consistent with the external physical and rheological property change after oxidation, which is revealed by the increase of density and viscosity. In addition, both the unoxidised and oxidised asphalts deform more and fail faster with an increase in both compressive and tensile stress rates, especially under tensile stresses. The oxidised asphalt is stiffer than the unoxidised asphalt, which shows less deformation.     

Microbial Community Composition in Crude Oils and Asphalts from the Kurdistan Region of Iraq

Abstract

To identify hydrocarbon-degrading microorganisms contributing to the formation of heavy oil we investigated the microbial community composition in different types of crude oils from oil-production facilities and in crude oil and asphalt from different natural seeps from the Kurdistan Region of Iraq (KRI). Crude oils from five out of six production facilities did not contain microorganisms detectable by 16S rRNA gene PCR amplicon sequencing likely reflecting a low microbial abundance in these samples. Crude oil and asphalt from the natural seeps hosted diverse microbial communities. The same phylotypes of uncultivated Deferribacteres and Thermodesulfobacteraceae were predominant community members across crude oils and asphalts from separate geographical locations. Soils surrounding seeps did not contain these phylotypes suggesting that they originate from the subsurface and although they seem commonly detected in hydrocarbon-rich environments their role in hydrocarbon-degradation is unknown. GC-MS analyses showed that mainly aromatic hydrocarbons were present in the crude oil and asphalt and that they were undergoing biodegradation - likely with sulfate and nitrate as terminal oxidants. In agreement, only bssA gene, but not assA gene-carrying microorganisms were detectable in the analyzed sampled. Overall our study identified several abundant uncultivated taxa with likely roles in transformation of nitrate, sulfate and hydrocarbons.