Investigation of the Precipitation
Behavior of Asphaltenes in the Presence of Naphthenic Acids Using
Light Scattering and Molecular Modeling Techniques
- Publication date
- Publisher
Abstract
A delay in the onset of flocculation is observed for
asphaltenes in the presence of several naphthenic acids: methyl abietate,
hydrogenated methyl abietate, 5β-cholanic acid, and 5β-cholanic
acid-3-one. This flocculation behavior is monitored as a function
of the added precipitant (<i>n</i>-heptane) to solutions
of suspended asphaltenes and naphthenic acids in model solutions of
toluene/<i>n</i>-heptane, using a combination of dynamic
light scattering (DLS) and near-infrared (NIR) spectroscopic techniques.
DLS and NIR show very good correlation in indentifying the onsets
of flocculation, which varied among the series of naphthenic acids.
Specific interaction energies and equilibrium intermolecular distances
of asphaltenes and naphthenic acids are calculated using molecular
mechanics. The results from molecular mechanics calculations support
the experimental results of the titrations, and structure–property
relationships are defined. Structure–property relationships
are established for naphthenic acids, defining the relative contributions
and importance of various functional groups: CC, CO,
COOR, and COOH. The additive effects of naphthenic acids, defined
by an increase in the precipitation onset, increase in the order of
5β-cholanic acid-3-one < hydrogenated methyl abietate <
methyl abietate < 5β-cholanic acid, with experiments containing
5β-cholanic acid-3-one containing unexpected and interesting
results