Effects of CEOR Chemicals on Asphaltene Precipitation

Curren, Morgan; Kaiser, Anton; Adkins, Stephanie; Qubian, Ali; Al-Enezi, H.; Sana, Heba; Al-Murayri, Mohammed Taha; Delshad, Mojdeh

doi:10.2118/191747-ms

Cited by 7 publications

(3 citation statements)

References 11 publications

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“…Many studies − have studied asphaltene precipitation remedies using various methods such as spectroscopy, , microscopy, , conductivity, filtration, and interfacial tension measurement. , To do so, different chemicals, including alcohols, organic acids, vegetable oils, and amphiphiles, were used as inhibitors. However, despite the recent advancement in this field of research, the oil industry still requires environmentally-friendly and cost-effective chemicals.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Hydrophobic Deep Eutectic Solvent and Glycolipid Biosurfactant as Green Asphaltene Inhibitors: Experimental and Theoretical Studies

Sanati

Malayeri

2021

Energy Fuels

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Precipitation of asphaltenes in porous media undesirably influences oil recovery due to pore clogging and subsequent wettability alteration. This study reports, primarily, the potential application of two environmentally-friendly chemicals, a hydrophobic deep eutectic solvent (DES) and a glycolipid biosurfactant known as rhamnolipid (RL), as asphaltene precipitation inhibitors. While DES was prepared by mixing glycerol, as its hydrogen bond donor (HBD) component, with methyltrioctylammonium chloride, as its hydrogen bond acceptor (HBA) component, RL was extracted from the native strain of Pseudomonas aeruginosa. The inhibition potential of these green chemicals was then characterized from experimental and theoretical perspectives. In the experimental part, the inhibition efficacy of both chemicals was initially confirmed based on the precipitation experiments. Next, filtration and optical microscopy provided evidence of chemical interaction between inhibitors and asphaltenes. To further illustrate the structural alteration of asphaltenes recovered from the inhibitor-included solutions, Fourier transform infrared and elemental analyses were conducted. Results revealed that the dominant inhibition mechanism of DES was the cracking/dissolution of asphaltene particles compared to peptization in the case of RL. Increased oxygen content and H/C ratio plus the decreased aromaticity index of the asphaltenes recovered from the DEScontaining solution compared with those of the raw asphaltene were indications of the dissolution mechanism. In addition, comparing the performance of synthesized chemicals with a conventional inhibitor, dodecylbenzene sulfonic acid, revealed the preferable performance of the chemicals. In the theoretical part, the propensity of asphaltene precipitation was studied using the surface energy concept based on the extended DLVO theory. The results showed that acid−base interactions among different subcomponents of the surface energy played a key role in retarding asphaltene precipitation by decreasing the attraction force between similar asphaltene particles, further supported by the concepts of work of cohesion and adhesion.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Hydrophobic Deep Eutectic Solvent and Glycolipid Biosurfactant as Green Asphaltene Inhibitors: Experimental and Theoretical Studies

Sanati

Malayeri

2021

Energy Fuels

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“…Turbidity is a modified ADT test in which the sedimentation of precipitated asphaltene particles is detected by light scattering techniques instead of visual inspection or using a colorimeter. − A high turbidity value (low transmittance) indicates a high level of dispersed particles in the mixture. − Similar to the ADT, the turbidity test can also be used to evaluate the effectiveness of asphaltene inhibitors. Kraiwattanawong et al tested different asphaltene inhibitors using a crude oil sample from Alaska.…”

Section: Test Methods For Asphaltene Inhibitorsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Review of the Current Laboratory Methods To Select Asphaltene Inhibitors

Enayat¹,

Tavakkoli²,

Yen³

et al. 2020

Energy Fuels

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Asphaltene deposition is a long-standing problem that threatens the uninterrupted production of crude oil. Unlike other flow assurance problems, downhole asphaltene deposition is not well-understood partly as a result of the complexity and diversity of the asphaltene chemical structure. Continuous downhole asphaltene inhibitor injection is one of the preventive strategies used to mitigate the asphaltene deposition problem. Such chemicals that are injected in low dosage are screened in the laboratory before field implementation. Over the last 20 years, various asphaltene testing methods have been proposed for product selection and research and development. Still, the lack of lab to field correlation remains a challenge for the operators, service providers, and chemical companies. Therefore, the search for robust, rapid, and reproducible lab screening methods for asphaltene inhibitors is ongoing. This review summarizes lab evaluation techniques adopted by different researchers, their governing principles, and the pros and cons. It may serve as a guide for adopting appropriate strategies and pursuing further investigations on the lessons learned. The hope is that, with a more in-depth understanding of the current methodologies, a better workflow can be designed to select the proper asphaltene control products for field implementation.

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“…For example, when asphaltenes deposit in reservoir rock, they change the rock wettability hence decrease the chances of having an effective oil recovery [4,5]. In some enhanced oil recovery (EOR) methods such as carbon dioxide injection [6] and chemical (cEOR) [7], the guest chemical would interact with asphaltenes in crude oil and subsequently result in asphaltenes deposition. Crude oil which flows in flowlines, tubing or process facilities will create a temperature gradient within a specified boundary [8,9].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Evaluation of Asphaltenes Deposition Inhibition Factors in Heavy Crude Oil Pipelines

Husin¹,

Elhaj²,

Wood³

2019

Processing of Heavy Crude Oils - Challenges and Opportunities

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Asphaltenes deposition is considered as Achilles's heel in the oil industry. The nucleation, precipitation and deposition of asphaltenes reduce the production rate significantly in affected wells and sometimes it can completely block the flow by plugging the flowlines, tubing and process facilities, in severe cases. This chapter evaluates the extrinsic and the intrinsic (thermodynamic) factors within the heavy crude oil production system. The main consequences of asphaltenes deposition are discussed such as the solvent-to-crude oil dilution ratio, crude oil physical properties (cloud point, pour point and API gravity), chemical solvent type (carbon number, functional group), agitation time and temperature changes. This chapter is expected to become the means for understanding the factors affecting the asphaltenes nucleation, precipitation and deposition.

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Effects of CEOR Chemicals on Asphaltene Precipitation

Cited by 7 publications

References 11 publications

Hydrophobic Deep Eutectic Solvent and Glycolipid Biosurfactant as Green Asphaltene Inhibitors: Experimental and Theoretical Studies

Hydrophobic Deep Eutectic Solvent and Glycolipid Biosurfactant as Green Asphaltene Inhibitors: Experimental and Theoretical Studies

Review of the Current Laboratory Methods To Select Asphaltene Inhibitors

Evaluation of Asphaltenes Deposition Inhibition Factors in Heavy Crude Oil Pipelines

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