12 - 14 October,
A comparative study of asphaltene precipitation/flocculation by a new non-scanning NIR-technique in accordance with ASTM D 7061
St. Küchler, T. Sobisch, A. Uhl, D. Lerche
LUM
Rudower Chaussee 29 (OWZ) 12489 Berlin / Germany
info@lum-gmbh.de, www.lum-gmbh.com
Abstract
Asphaltenes and its derivatives, which are present in crude oil emulsions , may create severe technical and economical problems when they precipitate. Especially the flocculation of asphaltenes in heavy fuel oils may cause severe problems, including reservoir plugging, fouling of production facilities, altering wettability and poisoning refinary catalysts. Therefore the prediction and prevention of asphaltene flocculation is a crucial task for technical and laboratory staff in R&D, QC and production.
From the various methods that have been suggested over the years to serve this task the ASTM D 7061-05a has become an industrial standard to quantify and predict asphaltene flocculation in crude oils and heavy fuels.
In this contribution a non-scanning NIR-technique will be applied to measure asphaltene stability according to ASTM D 7061-05a by space and time resolved extinction (transmission) profiles (STEP-Technology). This apparatus (LUMiReader®, LUM GmbH) has the capability to measure simultaneously in 3 channels at tontrolled temperature up to 60°C.
Nine different crude oils with and without inhibitor were studied.
For direct comparison the same samples have been analyzed by the scanning apparatus described in the ASTM D 7061-05a.
The Separability Numbers, calculated from the measurements with the non-scanning NIR-apparatus, range from 0.2 to 15 showing a very good reproducibility and a very good agreement with the scanning technique. The applied non-scanning NIR-apparatus therefore is able to serve the broad spectra of crude oils in the market.
Keywords: Crude oil, heavy fuel oil, Induced Phase Separation of Asphaltene, Separability Number, STEP-Technology
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