A New Investigation on Asphaltene Removal from Crude Oil: Experimental Study in Flow–Loop System Using Maghemite Nanoparticles

Abstract

Asphaltene is the heaviest organic compound in crude oils that its precipitation and deposition cause many negative effects on oil production such as an overall decrease in production rate and an increase in operating costs. Nanoparticle technology is a rapidly growing field that may supply an alternative and novel technique for heavy oil upgrading and recovery. As asphaltene depletion by nanoparticles in a system close to reality has not been studied yet, in this work the adsorption process was investigated in a flow–loop system to resemble a real process. To this end, the co-precipitation of ferric and ferrous ions method was applied to synthesis maghemite (γ-Fe2O3) nanoparticles. The synthesized maghemite nanoparticles (MNPs) were applied for the adsorption and removal of asphaltene from crude oil samples in the flow–loop system. The influence of different factors such as contact time, the dose of the nanoparticles, and flow velocity on the adsorption process was investigated. The results of the flow–loop mode experiment indicated that the rate of asphaltene adsorption onto MNPs increases with increasing oil velocity, contact time, and the dose of MNPs. Kinetic experiments were also showed that asphaltene adsorption onto MNPs follows the nonlinear Thomas model and the equilibrium could be achieved in less than 4 h.