338135 Modeling Asphaltene Aggregation With a Single Compound

Tuesday, November 5, 2013: 1:50 PM
Union Square 15 (Hilton)
Bianca Bruere, Department of Chemical Engineering, The Petroleum Institute, Abu Dhabi, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, Deepa Subramanian, Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, University of Maryland, College Park, MD, Jan Leys, Departement Natuurkunde en Sterrenkunde, KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium, Cor J. Peters, Chemical Engineering, Petroleum Institute, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates and Mikhail A. Anisimov, Department of Chemical Engineering, University of Maryland, College Park, MD

Modeling Asphaltene Aggregation with a Single Compound

Bianca Breure1, Deepa Subramanian1,2, Jan Leys2,3, Cor J. Peters1, and Mikhail A. Anisimov2,3

1Chemical Engineering Department, The Petroleum Institute, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates

2Institute for Physical Science and Technology, and Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, University of Maryland, College Park, Maryland 20742, United States

3Laboratorium voor Akoestiek en Thermische Fysica, Departement Natuurkunde en Sterrenkunde, KU Leuven, B-3001 Leuven, Belgium

ABSTRACT

Aggregation of a model asphaltene compound hexa-tert-butylhexa-perihexabenzocoronene (HTBHBC) in toluene/heptane mixtures was monitored in real time using dynamic light scattering. The observed aggregation behavior was compared to that of real asphaltenes. It was found that heptane induces aggregation of HTBHBC and that the growth rate of the aggregates depends upon the toluene/heptane ratio, closely resembling the aggregation kinetics of real asphaltenes. For the conditions studied in this work, only diffusion-limited aggregation was observed. We thus confirm that a single well-defined compound can be successfully used for modeling the process of asphaltene aggregation.


Extended Abstract: File Not Uploaded
See more of this Session: Thermophysical Properties and Phase Behavior V
See more of this Group/Topical: Engineering Sciences and Fundamentals