Thermodynamic modelling of asphaltene precipitation and related phenomena

Esther Forte; Spencer E Taylor

doi:10.1016/j.cis.2014.12.002

Thermodynamic modelling of asphaltene precipitation and related phenomena

Adv Colloid Interface Sci. 2015 Mar:217:1-12. doi: 10.1016/j.cis.2014.12.002. Epub 2014 Dec 15.

Authors

Esther Forte¹, Spencer E Taylor²

Affiliations

¹ BP Centre for Petroleum and Surface Chemistry (BP-CPSC), Department of Chemistry, University of Surrey, Guildford, Surrey GU2 7XH, United Kingdom.
² BP Centre for Petroleum and Surface Chemistry (BP-CPSC), Department of Chemistry, University of Surrey, Guildford, Surrey GU2 7XH, United Kingdom. Electronic address: s.taylor@surrey.ac.uk.

PMID: 25542133
DOI: 10.1016/j.cis.2014.12.002

Abstract

Asphaltenes are considered to be the heaviest and most polar fractions of crude oils and are frequently implicated in problems encountered during production and refining as a result of phase separation. In recent years, considerable effort has been given to understanding the phase behaviour of these structurally heterogeneous materials from both experimental and computational perspectives. Various experimental studies have confirmed the long-advanced colloidal behaviour of asphaltenes in organic media, and this has inspired a number of modelling strategies. The present review is specifically concerned with advances in modelling asphaltene phase behaviour with emphasis on the use of the statistical associating fluid theory (SAFT), which it attempts to place into the wider context of thermodynamic treatments.

Keywords: Asphaltene; Equations of state; Modelling; Phase behaviour; SAFT.

Publication types

Review