asphaltene

asphalt +‎ -ene (“benzene”)

asphaltene (plural asphaltenes)

1. (organic chemistry) Any of the dark organic constituents of crude oils and bitumen that are soluble in aromatic solvents but not in aliphatic ones; they are polycyclic aromatic compounds (composed of fused benzene rings) with aliphatic side chains
   • 1979, Perry Nowacki, Coal liquefaction processes - Volume 131, page 157:

     In the deasphalter the more polar asphaltenes form a second liquid phase which effectively agglomerates the solids in the oil feed.

• asphaltenic
• preasphaltene