Title: Inhibition of asphaltene precipitation by hydrophobic CaO and SiO₂ nanoparticles during natural depletion and CO₂ tests

Authors: Yaser Ahmadi; Babak Aminshahidy

Addresses: Department of Petroleum Engineering, Amirkabir University of Technology (Polytechnic), Tehran, Iran ' Department of Petroleum Engineering, Amirkabir University of Technology (Polytechnic), Tehran, Iran

Abstract: This paper addressed the effects of hydrophobic synthesized calcium oxide (CaO) and commercial silicon dioxide (SiO₂) nanoparticles on the inhibition of asphaltene precipitation after asphaltene adsorption on the nanoparticles surface. CO₂-oil interfacial tension (IFT) behaviours and batch experiment results were used for surveying asphaltene adsorption in the presence of nanoparticles, and natural depletion and CO₂ tests were done as a source of precipitation methods. The studied crude oil was located inunstable regions from the aspect view of asphaltene precipitation with a colloidal instability index (CII) of 1.392. The Langmuir isotherm modelled the asphaltene adsorption data well in the presence of both nanoparticles. Based on the results of CO₂-oil interfacial tension, batch experiment and asphaltene precipitations during natural depletions and carbon dioxide tests, CaO not only adsorbed more asphaltene in compared to SiO₂ but also had the best application for precipitation inhibition. [Received: May 24, 2018; Accepted: October 24, 2018]

Keywords: CaO nanoparticle; SiO₂ nanoparticle; asphaltene precipitation; asphaltene adsorption.

DOI: 10.1504/IJOGCT.2020.107555

International Journal of Oil, Gas and Coal Technology, 2020 Vol.24 No.3, pp.394 - 414

Received: 24 Apr 2018
Accepted: 24 Oct 2018
Published online: 01 Jun 2020 *

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