Chemical Heterogeneity of Deposits Formed in the Flocculant Flow From Crude Oil, According to FTIR Microscopy and Chemical Imaging

Abstract

Asphaltene-containing deposits formed on the CaF2 window induced by n-heptane flow in a microfluidic device have been investigated using an IR microscope and an imaging macro chamber (IMAC) with FPA detection. This is the first example of the ex situ infrared imaging of the deposits from crude oil formed under dynamic conditions of flocculant flow. It has been shown that fast aggregation of asphaltenes in n-heptane flow leads to the formation of deposit rich in heteroatom-containing functional groups: (О–Н, N–H, C=O, C–O, and S=O).