Suppression of Asphaltene Adsorption and Deposition in Porous Media
2021
Sarsito, Harrison | Alkafeef, Saad | Berg, John C.
Asphaltenes constitute a polar aromatic class of molecules that are part of bitumen, the heaviest component of crude oil. During crude oil extraction and refining, the precipitation and deposition of these asphaltenes result in numerous upstream and downstream problems, such as wellbore clogging and poisoning of refinery catalysts. This study investigates the usage of surface modification techniques to reduce the extent of asphaltene adsorption and deposition under flow conditions. UV–vis spectroscopy and differential pressure measurements are used to quantify the extent of asphaltene adsorption and deposition on both untreated and three types of treated silica surfaces. Reduction of asphaltene adsorption and deposition correlated with the hydrophobicity of surface functionality. Of the four types of silica surfaces tested, the one treated with perfluorinated silane was found to be most effective in reducing the extent of asphaltene adsorption/deposition. A complementary quartz crystal microbalance study was also conducted to investigate asphaltene deposition, revealing lower deposition amounts under static conditions.
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