A modified method for detection of interface and onset point in the asphaltenic fluids

Abstract

ABSTRACT Asphaltene precipitation and deposition causes many serious problems to the petroleum industry from the reservoir to the surface facilities. Therefore, it is important to bring it under control by finding a method to accelerate or slow down its precipitation and deposition. For achieving this purpose two parameters play an important role; onset point of the precipitation and amount of the deposited phase. When asphaltene precipitates, it is capable of depositing in the solution. After the deposition, the solution split into two phases; asphaltene-rich and asphaltene-lean. Determining the amount of the deposited phase needs to distinguish the interface between two phases. In this study, a novel method has been developed for simultaneous detection of the onset point and the interface using a single IR beam at the standard pressure and temperature. The proposed method is based on the IR light absorption and scattering during precipitation and deposition of the asphaltene aggregates. The results of the paper show that the proposed method can properly measure the interface of the deposited phase (error <6%). Also, the measured onset point of the precipitation for the asphaltenic solution is in the acceptable range (0.4–0.5 volume fraction).