High Quality Content by WIKIPEDIA articles! Asphaltenes are molecular substances that are found in crude oil, along with resins, aromatic hydrocarbons, and alkanes (i.e., saturated hydrocarbons). The word "asphaltene" was coined by Boussingault in 1837 when he noticed that the distillation residue of some bitumens had asphalt-like properties. Asphaltenes in the form of distillation products from oil refineries are used as "tar-mats" on roads.