Asphaltene Structure Modifiers as a Novel Approach for Viscosity Reduction in Heavy Crude Oils

Oñate-Gutiérrez, Jesús A.; Ramírez-Pradilla, Juan S.; Pinzón, Julio R.; Combariza, Marianny Y.

doi:10.1021/acs.energyfuels.9b03577

Cited by 8 publications

(5 citation statements)

References 28 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…In one of the mechanisms, additives interact with the polar groups of asphaltenes and resin molecules by breaking the original hydrogen bonding, leading to viscosity reduction. 83 In other mechanisms, chemical additives inhibit reaggregation of asphaltenes and resin molecules and attributes to the reduction in viscosity of bitumen. 84 The workability of an asphalt mixture is primarily affected by the interaction between the binder and fine aggregate particles.…”

Section: Cavitation-assisted Viscosity Reduction Of Bitumenmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In these approaches, the mechanism of viscosity reduction depends on the interaction of additives with asphaltenes and resin molecules. In one of the mechanisms, additives interact with the polar groups of asphaltenes and resin molecules by breaking the original hydrogen bonding, leading to viscosity reduction . In other mechanisms, chemical additives inhibit reaggregation of asphaltenes and resin molecules and attributes to the reduction in viscosity of bitumen …”

Section: Cavitationally Driven Transformations In Bitumen Processingmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Cavitation-Assisted Transformations in Bitumen Processing: A Review

N V,

Bhattacharya,

Holkar

et al. 2024

Ind. Eng. Chem. Res.

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Petroleum refineries are one of the largest greenhouse gas (GHG)emitting industrial sectors. One of the ways by which refineries can reduce emissions is by reducing the consumption of utilities (heat and steam) required in the refineries or by increasing the throughput of the refinery. Process intensification is one way by which throughput can be increased, and also process heat requirements can be reduced. Cavitation-driven process intensification has created many opportunities in the field of nanoparticle synthesis, wastewater treatment, water disinfection, crystallization, depolymerization, extraction, and emulsification. In recent years, cavitation-assisted bitumen processing has been explored in petroleum refineries. The present Review focuses on the studies related to cavitationally driven transformations in bitumen processing. Case studies have been critically reviewed in various aspects related to the use of cavitation in bitumen recovery from sands, bitumen viscosity reduction, bitumen desulfurization, improving compatibility of rubberized bitumen, bitumen nanoemulsion, and bitumen wastewater treatment. The present Review would be a ready reckoner highlighting the relative advantages and the current status of cavitation-assisted applications of bitumen. This Review also highlights the research gap and proposes future work in the area of cavitation technology for bitumen processing.

show abstract

Section: Cavitation-assisted Viscosity Reduction Of Bitumenmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Cavitationally Driven Transformations In Bitumen Processingmentioning

confidence: 99%

Cavitation-Assisted Transformations in Bitumen Processing: A Review

N V,

Bhattacharya,

Holkar

et al. 2024

Ind. Eng. Chem. Res.

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Heavy oils have a considerable amount of asphaltene-resinous components, heteroatoms (S, N, and O), and metals (vanadium and nickel) . The asphaltenes in heavy oils contain iron, vanadium, and nickel (up to 1%), of which the proportion of vanadium is more than 80%. , Vanadylporphyrins, one of the most common forms of crude oil metalloporphyrins, play an important role in asphaltene aggregation, fouling, and deposition. − …”

Section: Asphaltene Structurementioning

confidence: 99%

Review of Asphaltenes in an Electric Field

2021

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Asphaltenes are regarded as troublesome components of crude oils as their precipitation and deposition inside production wells and downstream infrastructure often result in a reduction of production capacity and, in critical cases, production shut-in. It has been shown that asphaltene deposition on conductive surfaces can be controlled by the application of an electric field. The electric field has been used to either inhibit or accelerate asphaltene deposition. This paper reviews asphaltene behavior in an electric field. It describes the structure and electric properties of asphaltenes as well as their electrokinetic behavior. State-of-the-art asphaltene electrodeposition and separation from both model and crude oils using electric fields are also discussed. The influence of parameters such as asphaltene chemistry, crude oil composition, pH, electric field strength, and flow conditions on the asphaltene electrodeposition process is addressed, and the effect of asphaltene interactions with themselves and other crude oil components is evaluated. A comprehensive literature survey reported the electrodeposition on both positive and negative electrodes, which suggests the complexity of the process. It has been shown that asphaltene charges can be tailored by changing the process parameters. Because of the high energy efficiency and relatively simple process, asphaltene electrodeposition is currently a key solution for removal of asphaltenes from crude oils. This review also highlights the main challenges and knowledge gaps associated with the asphaltene electrodeposition process.

show abstract

“…A study showed that pyrene entered porous asphaltene nanoaggregates to form host–guest complexes through significant interaction between asphaltene aggregates and pyrene molecules . Although many attempts have been made through designing aromatic VRAs based on the asphaltene interaction by π–π stacking, hydrogen bonds, etc., ,− to the best of our knowledge, pyrene has never been used for viscosity reduction of heavy oil. The synthesized copolymer PAP contains 3.7 mol % of pyrene units, which leads to phase separation of the polymer in high-salinity brine.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A Polycyclic–Aromatic Hydrocarbon-Based Water-Soluble Formulation for Heavy Oil Viscosity Reduction and Oil Displacement

Chen¹,

AlSofi

Wang

et al. 2023

Energy Fuels

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

A novel water-soluble viscosity reducer system based on polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) was designed and synthesized for heavy oil viscosity reduction and enhanced heavy oil production by oil displacement. This viscosity reducing agent (VRA) is composed of three components: the first one is a polyacrylamide (PAM) copolymer that contains hydrophobic pyrene groups, namely, P(Am-co-Py) (PAP); the second one is a nonionic surfactant, namely, n-dodecyl β-d-glucopyranoside (DDG); and the third component is a partially hydrolyzed PAM terpolymer that bears hydrophobic naphthalene groups, namely, P(Am-co-AMPS-co-VNp) (PAAN). The copolymer PAP was not soluble in high-salinity water (HSW). Addition of DDG solubilized PAP, and the yielded binary DDG/PAP solution was found to greatly decrease the interfacial tension (IFT) between heavy oil and water to an ultralow level and effectively reduce the heavy crude oil viscosity. In the presence of PAP, stable oil-in-water (O/W) emulsions were formed. The size of emulsion decreased and the size distribution narrowed with an increase in the PAP content. These observations were attributed to the strong interaction between the PAH molecules and heavy oil components via π–π stacking, hydrogen bonding, and hydrophobic association. Upon addition of the terpolymer PAAN, the solution viscosity of DDG/PAP/PAAN dramatically increased as a result of the formation of an extended polymeric network linked by intermolecular PAH junctions with strong hydrophobicity. The oil displacement tests conducted with a micromodel approach and a core-flooding equipment both indicated that the ternary VRA flooding significantly enhanced the heavy crude oil production based on the HSW flooding. The high effectiveness of heavy oil displacement by the ternary VRA system resulted from an enhanced volumetric sweep efficiency and a remarkable IFT reduction. This study investigated the synergy between the PAH-based polymers and the surfactant and developed a potential strategy in the design and formulation of high-performance VRAs for heavy oil viscosity reduction and heavy oil displacement.

show abstract

Asphaltene Structure Modifiers as a Novel Approach for Viscosity Reduction in Heavy Crude Oils

Cited by 8 publications

References 28 publications

Cavitation-Assisted Transformations in Bitumen Processing: A Review

Cavitation-Assisted Transformations in Bitumen Processing: A Review

Review of Asphaltenes in an Electric Field

A Polycyclic–Aromatic Hydrocarbon-Based Water-Soluble Formulation for Heavy Oil Viscosity Reduction and Oil Displacement

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About