Asphaltene Aggregation and Assembly Behaviors in Organic Solvents with Water and Inhibitor

Abstract

Asphaltenes cause problems such as emulsion formation and deposition/precipitation during crude oil production, processing, and transport. A deeper understanding of the behaviors of asphaltenes is needed to design remediation treatments to minimize costs during production. In this study, the aggregation and assembly behaviors of asphaltene model compound C5PeC11 under different conditions were studied and visualized through molecular dynamic simulations. C5PeC11 aggregates were formed as a result of the competition between the solvation of C5PeC11 in solvents and the self-association of C5PeC11 molecules. One-dimensional bent linear assembly of C5PeC11 aggregates was observed upon the addition of n-heptane to toluene. Although the water content was low, the addition of water molecules resulted in enhanced C5PeC11 aggregation and considerably different C5PeC11 aggregate assembly behaviors. C5PeC11 aggregates formed a cluster in a parallel horizontal connection manner with the hydrocarbon tails located outs...