All about Sulfonated Asphalt

sulfonated-asphalt

Sulfonated Asphalt is a compound made from Sulfonating the Asphaltic material, synthetic and/or natural in order to make it solvable in water. The procedure contains special technology to be applied along with several chemical additives to change the nature of the asphalt for water solubility while preserving certain characteristics.

What is Sulfonated Asphalt?

Sulfonated asphalt is partly water soluble, party oil soluble and partly solvable in both water and oil providing a high emulsifying property which makes it suitable to emulsify with both fresh water and sea water along with the Oil, providing some unique characteristics to be applied in Drilling Fluids.

Sulfonated Asphalt is usually formed as a Blackish Brwon Powder and supplied in 50 pound sacks for application at the drilling sites. Considering the use of Synthetic bitumen as raw material, HSE regulations must be followed precisely for application of this drilling additive.

Benefit and features of using sulfonated asphalt:

  • It is compatible with all water based drilling muds (WBM)
  • Depressing the solid expansion of drilling chips
  • Controlling HTHP Flow
  • Helps maintain low shearing rate under HTHP
  • Controls high temperature water loss
  • Improves Filter Cake Quality and helps seal micro fractures
  • Prevents slides and falls of wellbore walls
  • improving lubricating properties of drilling mud
  • Sulfonated Asphalt does not require use of emulsifiers for corresponding mixing
  • Prevents Stuck Drill Pipe
  • Its specific solubility in water and oil ensures excellent chemical and physical bonding properties
  • Has Crack sealing effect
  • Inhibits dispersion of drilled solids

Sulfonated Gilsonite

Basically Sulfonated Gilsonite is a sort of Sulfonated Asphalt, but with different properties and production method. Sulfonated Gilsonite is obtained from processing Natural Bitumen while Sulfonated Asphalt is made through sulfonating certain asphalt materials through a special method.

Most famous Sulfonated Asphalt in the world is SOLTEX additive formulated by Chevron Company and enhanced over 50 years of application. Following Soltex, American Gilsonite company has also provided a Sulfonated Gilsonite to the market with similar properties at 25-50% cheaper prices, while both products are highly expensive.

More economic prices for Sulfonated Asphalt can be obtained from Chinese factories actively using Iran Gilsonite for their formulation and improving the economics of their sulfonated asphalt products.

At Zista Gilsonite facility, we have proudly formulated our own Sulfonated Gilsonite in several grades to match same applications of Soltex Additive for high quality market and also an economical formulation of Sulfonated Gilsonite to match Chinese/Indian supply. Having first hand local access to the main natural resources, provides Zista Gilsonite with a competitive edge impossible to reach by Non-Iranian suppliers.

For more information about Zista Sulfonated Gilsonite, please visit the related product page:

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What is Natural Bitumen

Natural bitumens are semisolid or solid mixtures of hydrocarbons and as much as 50 percent heterocyclic compounds and are composed mostly of carbon and hydrogen but have content of other elements such as oxygen, sulfur and Nitrogen.

To classify natural bitumen, a classification of hydrocarbons is required. Hydrocarbons are molecules made from carbon and hydrogen atoms and form a continuous series of organic compounds ranging from the heaviest (coal) to crude oil and to lightest (methane). In natural resources, hydrocarbons have formed complex mixtures with nonhydrocarbons:

Definition of Natural Bitumen

Based on above proved categorization, if a hydrocarbon mineral is NOT Solvable in Oil solutions such as CS2 or TCE, then it is NOT a natural bitumen and belongs to the family Pyrobitumens such as reserves of Albertite in Canada and Selenizza in Albania.

On the other hand, the famous natural bitumen Gilsonite, is under the family of Asphaltite which are found in many countries including USA, Iran, Colombia, China and Angola.

The term natural asphalt mostly refers to Lake Asphalt deposits, most famous one to be in Trinidad and Tobacco and also the ones in South of Iran.

Below is a comparison of conceptual specs to differentiate Crude Oil and Natural bitumen types:

ClassOil (wt%)Asphaltic Content (wt%)Viscosity (cP)Specific Gravity
High viscosity oil (Heavy oil)70<2550-2,0000.935-0.965
Maltha (Extra heavy oil)40-7525-602,000-20,0000.965-1.030
Natural Bitumen (Natural Asphalt)25-4060-75>20,0001.030-1.100
Natural Bitumen (Asphaltite, Gilsonite…)<25>75<1,0001.050-1.200
Kerite (Pyrobitumen)3-590N/A1.070-1.350
Anthraxolite (Pyrobitumen)N/A100N/A1.300-2.000
Ozocerite (Mineral wax)50-100<50N/A0850-970

Natural Bitumen Suppliers

Supply of Natural bitumen is a very technical business in nature, but according to the low knowledge of consumption market on the material, there is a vast range of suppliers which are arranging Natural Bitumen shipments professionally and unprofessionally (especially from Iran) as well.

Most common market for the Natural Bitumen type is for Asphaltite kind and among asphaltites the most famous supply is Grahamite (Also called Gilsonite). Providing the availability of Gilsontie-Type natural bitumen to be mostly Iran and USA, most natural bitumen suppliers are from these two countries along with miners and exporters of asphaltite (asfaltita) from Colombia that are emerging in the past years.

Natural Bitumen is mostly sold in powder form in 25 kg sacks for ease of use at the consumption sites and it can be supplied in a variety of specifications with superior synthetic quality from American Gilsonite company to the Natural Normal Quality supplied by reputable Iranian suppliers such as Zista Gilsonite.

At Zista Gilsonite is proud to have own mine operation and powdering facilities to supply a 100% Natural Bitumen to international market and adapt the supply possibilities to industrial consumption requirements when possible.

Considering internal mining operation and direct access to products from other mines in Iran, the range of specifications supplied by Zista Gilsonite from 50-95% bitumen content (solvable material in CS2) for Drilling Sector and also possibility of supplying natural asphalt (Iranian Lake Asphalt) for certain applications in Road Paving.

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