LABORATORY STUDY OF REAL-TIME OPTICAL MICROSCOPE TRACKING OF THERMAL-REACTION PROGRESS OF VACUUM RESIDUA .2. CHEMICAL RELEVANCE OF PHYSICALPROCESSES IN THERMAL-REACTION SYSTEMS OF VACUUM RESIDUA

It has been indicated from analyses of the vicissitude of chemical sta tes and their comparisons with the occurring physical processes in the thermal reaction systems of vacuum residua that the first characteris tic state point coincides with the induction period of coke formation and the third characteristic state point, immediately after which a la rge amount of coke is yielded, manifests the critical point at which c oncentration of the neo-asphaltenes generated in-situ by the fast-reac tion resins is high enough to approach its phase separation. The indus trial implication of the second characteristic state point is not clea r enough. It is accordingly pointed out, in combination with the concl usions drawn in the first part of the serial, that the real-time optic al microscope tracking of the thermal reaction progress of vacuum resi dua based on the first and third characteristic state points is feasib le on the laboratory scale for forecasting the sudden changes of the p hysical and/or chemical states of the thermal reaction systems of vacu um residua, and is expected to find applications in the industrial vis breaking process.