A residue from heat treatment and distillation of petroleum fractions. It is solid at room temperature, consists of a complex mixture of numerous predominantly aromatic and alkyl-substituted aromatic
hydrocarbons, and exhibits a broad softening range instead of a defined
melting temperature.
Note:
The hydrogen
aromaticity (ratio of aromatic to total hydrogen atoms) varies between 0.3 and 0.6. The aliphatic hydrogen atoms are typically present in
alkyl groups substituted on aromatic rings or as naphthenic hydrogen.
Source:
PAC, 1995, 67, 473
(Recommended terminology for the description of carbon as a solid (IUPAC Recommendations 1995))
on page 499
Cite as:
IUPAC. Compendium of Chemical Terminology, 2nd ed. (the "Gold Book"). Compiled by A. D. McNaught and A.Wilkinson. Blackwell Scientific Publications, Oxford (1997). XML on-line corrected version: http://goldbook.iupac.org (2006-) created by M. Nic, J. Jirat, B. Kosata; updates compiled by A. Jenkins. ISBN 0-9678550-9-8.
doi:10.1351/goldbook.
