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Investigation on the flocculation of asphaltenes and the colloidal stability of the crude oil fraction (> 210°C)
Author(s) -
Chaala A.,
Benallal B.,
Hachelef S.
Publication year - 1994
Publication title -
the canadian journal of chemical engineering
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.404
H-Index - 67
eISSN - 1939-019X
pISSN - 0008-4034
DOI - 10.1002/cjce.5450720614
Subject(s) - asphaltene , flocculation , fraction (chemistry) , crude oil , agglomerate , colloid , chemical engineering , chemistry , chromatography , phase (matter) , organic chemistry , materials science , petroleum engineering , geology , engineering
Several problems are encountered with asphaltenes during the exploitation, transportation, storage and treatment of crude oil. The purpose of the present work was to study the behaviour of the crude oil fraction (<210°C) by varying the temperature and doping with some hydrocarbons including solid paraffin and aromatic concentrate. The effect of flooding water was investigated. A preliminary characterization study on asphaltenes removed from the crude oil using two different solvents was performed. The state of the oil was determined by the stability factor which indicates the susceptibility of asphaltenes to agglomerate or to disperse in the continuous phase.