Measurement of asphaltene particle size distributions in crude oils diluted with n-heptane

Journal Article · Sat May 01 00:00:00 EDT 1993 · Industrial and Engineering Chemistry Research; (United States)

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1021/ie00017a026· OSTI ID:6227928

Ferworn, K A; Svrcek, W Y; Mehrotra, A K ^[1]

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1. Univ. of Calgary, Alberta (Canada)

The formation and growth of asphaltene particles from heavy crude oils diluted with n-heptane at 22 C and atmospheric pressure was studied using a laser particle analyzer. The results obtained with six crude oil samples indicate that the asphaltene precipitation is an instantaneous process leading to a unimodal, log-normal distribution. At typical laboratory conditions, the particles remained essentially unaltered in size and population density. A vast majority of the particles were noted to be far from round in shape, with the mean particle size ranging from 4.5 to 291 [mu]m. It was found that the oil-to-diluent ratio is an important parameter in determining the size of the generated asphaltene particles; higher dilution ratios yielded larger particles. The mean asphaltene particle size was also found to increase with the average molar mass and the asphaltene content of crude oils.

• OSTI ID: 6227928
• Journal Information: Industrial and Engineering Chemistry Research; (United States), Vol. 32:5; ISSN 0888-5885
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

02 PETROLEUM
ASPHALTENES
PARTICLE SIZE
DILUTION
DISTRIBUTION
FLOCCULATION
HEPTANE
LASERS
PARTICLE SIZE CLASSIFIERS
PETROLEUM
POPULATION DENSITY
SHAPE
VISCOSITY
ALKANES
ASPHALTS
BITUMENS
ENERGY SOURCES
EQUIPMENT
FOSSIL FUELS
FUELS
HYDROCARBONS
ORGANIC COMPOUNDS
OTHER ORGANIC COMPOUNDS
PRECIPITATION
SEPARATION PROCESSES
SIZE
TAR
023000* - Petroleum- Properties & Composition