Vacuum residue and petroleum asphalt
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Is there any difference between vacuum residue and petroleum asphalt? Why do some people call vacuum residue asphalt?
Of course, there is a difference. Vacuum residue is the heavy oil fraction extracted from the bottom of a vacuum distillation tower; it mainly consists of saturated components, aromatic components, gums, and asphaltenes. Asphalt is the material that is removed from vacuum residue through a solvent deasphalting unit, and it is primarily composed of asphaltenes and gums. In other words, asphalt is contained within vacuum residue.
Vacuum residue is a term used in relation to the design of processing units, referring to oils from the top of towers, side streams, or the residue at the bottom of towers; whereas asphalt is the name given to the end products, such as naphtha, diesel, asphalt, etc. Therefore, the two cannot be considered equivalent. Depending on the raw materials used and the processing methods, vacuum residue can be used to produce asphalt or other products or semi-finished goods.