Quantification of asphaltene precipitation by scaling equation

Abstract

Asphaltene precipitation from crude oil is one of the issues for the oil industry. The deposition of asphaltene occurs during production, transportation and separating process. The injection of carbon dioxide (CO2) during enhance oil recovery (EOR) is believed to contribute much to the precipitation of asphaltene. Precipitation can be affected by the changes in temperature and pressure on the crude oil however, reduction in pressure contribute much to the instability of asphaltene as compared to temperature. This paper discussed the quantification of precipitated asphaltene in crude oil at different high pressures and at constant temperature. The derived scaling equation was based on the reservoir condition with variation in the amount of carbon dioxide (CO2) mixed with Dulang a light crude oil sample used in the experiment towards the stability of asphaltene. A FluidEval PVT cell with Solid Detection System (SDS) was the instrument used to gain experimental knowledge on the behavior of fluid at reservoir conditions. Two conditions were followed in the conduct of the experiment. Firstly, a 45cc light crude oil was mixed with 18cc (40%) of CO2 and secondly, the same amount of crude oil sample was mixed with 27cc (60%) of CO2. Results showed that for a 45cc crude oil sample combined with 18cc (40%) of CO2 gas indicated a saturation pressure of 1498.37psi and asphaltene onset point was 1620psi. Then for the same amount of crude oil combined with 27cc (60%) of CO2, the saturation pressure was 2046.502psi and asphaltene onset point was 2230psi. The derivation of the scaling equation considered reservoir temperature, pressure, bubble point pressure, mole percent of the precipitant the injected gas CO2, and the gas molecular weight. The scaled equation resulted to a third order polynomial that can be used to quantify the amount of asphaltene in crude oil.