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Vatti AK, Divi S, Dey P. Effectiveness of inhibitors to prevent asphaltene aggregation: Insights from atomistic and molecular simulations. J Chem Phys 2024; 160:090901. [PMID: 38450730 DOI: 10.1063/5.0190779] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/08/2023] [Accepted: 02/07/2024] [Indexed: 03/08/2024] Open
Abstract
The technological landscape for industrial processes handling asphaltene is evolving at a rapid pace due to the increase in the extraction of heavy crude oil. The main underlying challenges in this regard are the flow assurance, the recovery of the spent solvent, and the sophisticated extractor setup required to develop the process to an industrial scale. The number of studies focused on the handling of the asphaltene at the atomic and molecular scales is growing enormously in order to identify new sustainable solvents for the effective extraction of asphaltene from heavy crude oil or oil-bearing sands. This Perspective focuses on the importance of density functional theory and molecular dynamics simulations to explore the broader range of asphaltene inhibitors, e.g., nanoparticles, ionic liquids, and deep eutectic solvents, to prevent asphaltene precipitation. We provide a concise overview of the major accomplishments, analyze the aspects that require attention, and highlight the path-breaking studies having a significant impact on the process of chemical enhanced oil recovery from heavy crude oil reservoirs primarily based on atomistic and molecular simulations.
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Affiliation(s)
- Anoop Kishore Vatti
- Department of Chemical Engineering, Manipal Institute of Technology (MIT), Manipal Academy of Higher Education (MAHE), Manipal, Karnataka 576104, India
| | - Srikanth Divi
- Department of Chemical Engineering, Manipal Institute of Technology (MIT), Manipal Academy of Higher Education (MAHE), Manipal, Karnataka 576104, India
| | - Poulumi Dey
- Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Faculty of Mechanical Engineering (ME), Delft University of Technology, 2628 CD Delft, The Netherlands
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Norouzpour M, Azdarpour A, Santos RM, Esfandiarian A, Nabipour M, Mohammadian E, Khaksar Manshad A, Keshavarz A. Comparative Static and Dynamic Analyses of Solvents for Removal of Asphaltene and Wax Deposits above- and below-Surface at an Iranian Carbonate Oil Field. ACS OMEGA 2023; 8:25525-25537. [PMID: 37483249 PMCID: PMC10357422 DOI: 10.1021/acsomega.3c03149] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/10/2023] [Accepted: 06/20/2023] [Indexed: 07/25/2023]
Abstract
During production from oil wells, the deposition of asphaltene and wax at surface facilities and porous media is one of the major operational challenges. The crude oil production rate is significantly reduced due to asphaltene deposition inside the reservoir. In addition, the deposition of these solids inside the surface facilities is costly to oil companies. In this study, the efficiency of different solvents in dissolving asphaltene and wax was investigated through static and dynamic tests. The analysis of solid deposits from the surface choke of one of the Iranian carbonate oil fields showed that they consisted of 41.3 wt % asphaltene, and the balance was predominantly wax. In addition, the asphaltenes obtained from the surface choke solid deposits had a more complex structure than that of asphaltenes extracted from the crude oil itself. The static tests showed that xylene, toluene, gasoline, kerosene, and gas condensate had the highest efficiencies in dissolving solid deposits; conversely, diesel had a negative impact on dissolving solid deposits. Static tests on pure asphaltene showed that, among the tested solvents, gas condensate and diesel had a negative effect on the solubility of asphaltene. The dynamic core flooding results showed that asphaltene deposition inside the cores reduced the permeability by 79-91%. Among the tested solvents, xylene, gasoline, and kerosene resulted in the highest efficacy in restoring the damaged permeability, and higher efficiency was obtained with an equivalent solvent injection rate of 1 bbl/min versus 3 bbl/min.
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Affiliation(s)
- Milad Norouzpour
- Department
of Petroleum Engineering, Marvdasht Branch, Islamic Azad University, Marvdasht 73711-13119, Iran
| | - Amin Azdarpour
- Department
of Petroleum Engineering, Marvdasht Branch, Islamic Azad University, Marvdasht 73711-13119, Iran
| | - Rafael M. Santos
- School
of Engineering, University of Guelph, Guelph, Ontario N1G 2W1, Canada
| | - Ali Esfandiarian
- Department
of Petroleum Engineering, Marvdasht Branch, Islamic Azad University, Marvdasht 73711-13119, Iran
| | - Moein Nabipour
- Department
of Petroleum Engineering, Marvdasht Branch, Islamic Azad University, Marvdasht 73711-13119, Iran
| | - Erfan Mohammadian
- Key
Laboratory of Continental Shale Hydrocarbon Accumulation and Efficient
Development, Northeast Petroleum University, Daqing 163318, Heilongjiang, China
| | - Abbas Khaksar Manshad
- Department
of Petroleum Engineering, Abadan Faculty of Petroleum Engineering, Petroleum University of Technology (PUT), Abadan 49658-15879, Iran
| | - Alireza Keshavarz
- Petroleum
Engineering Discipline, School of Engineering, Edith Cowan University, 270 Joondalup Drive, Joondalup, WA 6027, Australia
- Centre for
Sustainable Energy and Resources, Edith
Cowan University, Joondalup, WA 6027, Australia
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Yang Y, Liang X, Li X. Investigation of clay-oil interfacial interactions in petroleum-contaminated soil: Effect of crude oil composition. J Mol Liq 2023. [DOI: 10.1016/j.molliq.2023.121702] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 04/03/2023]
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Ekramipooya A, Valadi FM, Farisabadi A, Gholami MR. Effect of the heteroatom presence in different positions of the model asphaltene structure on the self-aggregation: MD and DFT study. J Mol Liq 2021. [DOI: 10.1016/j.molliq.2021.116109] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/21/2022]
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