Gilsonite created from crude oil after milions of years in high pressure and temprature which is naturally-occurring mixture of bitumen and mineral matter formed by oil seepages in the earth’s crust. Gilsonite in rock form is available in west of Iran between Ilam and Kermanshah and Iraq border.The first Gilsonite came from Caribbean country Trinidad and Tobago and it was contenting 55% hydrocarbon and the rest minerals. Initially this kind of Gilsonite used as additive in road construction.There is another origin of Gilsonite which is coming from other city in Kuhdasht belong to Lorestan province in Iran. The hydrocarbon content is much lower than Ilam and Kermashah and it is just using for foundry.Hydrocarbon content or bitumen content of Gilsonite from Kermanshah and Ilam is first quality of Iran Gilsonite and the purity comming up to 98%.
Generally Gilsonite is mineral hydrocarbon of asphaltite class which is a black solid of fairly bright luster and melts or fuses between 130 and 210C.It is soluble in carbon disulfide, carbon tetrachloride and many other non-polar organic solvent. The principal deposit of Gilsonite is found in the Gilanegharb and Ghasreshirin, Kermanshah, Iran as filling in vertical fissures in the mountain calcareous shales, limestone and sandstones.
Since it is discovery, Gilsonite has gained considerable commercial importance. The ATDM Gilsonite company has the annual production to be well over eighty thousands tons with a yearly income of nearly three million dollars for the province of Kermanshah. Considering these facts, it is easy to visualize the commercial importance of this material.Iran Gilsonite is substance composed principally of complex hydrocarbons. They contain very little mineral mater or oxygenated compounds, and are largely soluble in carbon disulphide.
These veins vary in width from several meter and to twenty meters, and vary in length from a few kilometer to as much as thirty or forty km.
Some veins are believed to be fourteen hundred meter. It has been estimated that Utah has a reserve supply of sixteen million tons of this are available for commercial development.
Gilsonite specification
Gilsonite is very fragile. It shatters easily. Rolling the Gilsonite between two drums tends to give the best particle distribution to use as raw material in carbon production.
When we process the Gilsonite from chunks to powder and then heating the Gilsonite powder where we drive off the high value volatiles, we get much less material, then we are able to supply volume quantity to our customer.
Gilsonite solubility
Gilsonite, being a hydrocarbon, is somewhat soluble in hydrocarbon solvents. It is more soluble in kerosene and naphtha than it is in crude oil. The effect of crude oil on set cement containing gilsonite is negligible beyond the dissolution of exposed gilsonite particles.Gilsonite has a melting point of 385°f. Some softening occurs above 24('f and particles may tend to fuse to
