Experimental study of ultrasonic radiation on growth kinetic of asphaltene aggregation and deposition

Abstract

Ultrasonic treatment as an economical and green technology has been much attended in petroleum industry, especially for inhibition and removal of asphaltene deposition in the near wellbore region. The performance of ultrasonic waves is affected by different parameters such as time, power, frequency, type of radiation, etc. In this communication, the effects of duration of ultrasonic radiation, power, and stability on asphaltene aggregation were evaluated from a kinetic point of view. In fact, the optimal radiation conditions were determined by comparing the growth kinetics and size distribution of asphaltene particles. The optimal exposure time and power of ultrasonic radiation for the oil sample were obtained at 150 s and 40 W, respectively. In addition, the negative effect of time duration on the aggregated asphaltene particle diameter was observed. The effect of ultrasonic radiation on prevention and removal of asphaltene deposits was examined by observation of changes in asphaltene particle diameter. The results demonstrated the beneficial effect of ultrasonic waves on inhibition of asphaltene deposition. In order to investigate the effect of ultrasound on asphaltene deposition in porous media, the oil sample was radiated with ultrasound at the most optimal conditions, which were obtained in the previous experiments. Moreover, the trend of asphaltene particle deposition in porous media (micromodel) at optimal conditions was compared to the same oil sample without ultrasonic radiation. Comparison of pressure drop curves showed that the use of ultrasound in determined optimum conditions reduces the amount of asphaltene deposition.

Recent applications of ultrasonic waves in improved oil recovery: A review of techniques and results

“…Further evidence of the effect of ultrasound on organic scales is the visualization studies of the removal of asphaltene in porous media using 2D glass micromodel conducted at 20 kHz, 40 W [32] and at 30 kHz, 100 W [33]. The authors showed that ultrasound could significantly reduce the precipitation of asphaltene and prevent its deposition in porous media, howbeit over exposure of samples to ultrasound augmented the damage caused by asphaltenes [32]. The main mechanism of ultrasound contributing to the prevention of asphaltene deposition was found to be vibrations.…”

Cavitation as a method of improving the energy efficiency of oil industry enterprises

“…The interaction between the asphaltene particles decreases with a decrease in their size, which subsequently leads to a decrease in viscosity. Thus, according to the conclusions made in work [10], cavitation efficiency is due to both local temperature increase in the area of cavitation bubbles collapse and the effect of cavitation directly on asphaltenes.…”

Ultrasonic and Heat Treatment of Crude Oils

“…There are works where ultrasonic treatment of oil and oil products is described at low power values: 20 W [15], 40 W [36], 10-60 W [31], 75 W [35], 100 W [37], and 150 W [38].…”

“…For example, in work [36], all samples of light crude oil (20 mL) were exposed to ultrasonic treatment with the power of 40 W and duration up to 10 min. Optimum values of time and radiation power were 2.5 min and 40 W, respectively.…”