Studies of transport of asphaltenes through membranes using hindered diffusion theories for spheres and spheroids

Journal Article · Fri Aug 01 00:00:00 EDT 1997 · Industrial and Engineering Chemistry Research

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1021/ie960598c· OSTI ID:536418

Ravi-Kumar, V S; Tsotsis, T T; Sahimi, M ^[1]

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1. Univ. of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA (United States). Dept. of Chemical Engineering

The results of ongoing efforts by this group to model the transport of asphaltene molecules through model membranes are presented. A model is described which aims to capture the effect of the polydisperse nature of asphaltene molecules on their transport properties. The asphaltene structure is generated stochastically using Monte Carlo techniques. Individual asphaltene molecules are approximated as spheroids for the purpose of calculating their hindered diffusivities. Continuum hydrodynamic theories and boundary element methods are used to calculate the diffusion coefficients. A number of analytical expressions, scaling relationships and approximations utilized in the literature are evaluated.

• Sponsoring Organization: National Science Foundation, Washington, DC (United States); USDOE, Washington, DC (United States)
• OSTI ID: 536418
• Journal Information: Industrial and Engineering Chemistry Research, Vol. 36, Issue 8; Other Information: PBD: Aug 1997
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

32 ENERGY CONSERVATION, CONSUMPTION, AND UTILIZATION
ASPHALTENES
MEMBRANE TRANSPORT
FLOW MODELS
SHAPE
DIFFUSION
CALCULATION METHODS