Knowledge
of the asphaltene phase envelope (APE) is crucial for
oil companies, especially when enhanced oil recovery is applied. An
innovative quartz crystal resonator (QCR) technique was employed to
assess the phase behavior of asphaltene under reservoir conditions.
The effect of CO2 injection coupled to temperature changes
on the APE of a recombined oil with a very low asphaltene content
(0.235% w/w of C7 asphaltene in dead oil) are reported. It has been
shown that QCR is an appropriate and highly sensitive nondestructive
experimental technique for detecting asphaltene flocculation. Pressure
onsets were found to be dependent on the depressurization rate.
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