Preparation of mesophase pitch by aromatics-rich distillate of naphthenic vacuum gas oil

Two aromatics-rich distillates R1 and R2 with different properties from naphthenic base vacuum gas oil were used for preparing mesophase pitch through high-pressure thermal treatment. 1H-NMR, FT-IR and VPO were employed to characterize the structural parameters of the raw materials. The products' optical texture and molecular structure were analyzed by polarized light optical microscopy, 1H-NMR, FT-IR and XRD. The effect of raw materials' structure on the formation of mesophase pitch was discussed. The results showed that the structure of the raw material had an important effect on the formation of mesophase pitch. The raw material R2 with higher aromaticity, more naphthenic structure and less alkyl side chains was easy to form mesophase pitch with large-domains optical texture, lower softening point and more ordered crystal structure.