| An In Silico Study on the Impact of n-Dodecyl β-D-maltoside Surfactant on Asphaltene Aggregate in Oil-Water System |
| Paper ID : 1043-ICNS |
| Authors: |
|
Sara Aranifard * Department of Chemical and Petroleum Engineering, Sharif University of Technology, Tehran, Iran |
| Abstract: |
| Asphaltenes are complex molecules that are found in crude oil. These molecules can become a problem during production when they are unstable and tending to aggregate and form larger, denser, and more viscous concentrations. Also during refining, transportation, and storage of crude oil asphaltene aggregation and precipitation can occur. Although aromatics and resins in crude oil can help asphaltene stability, it is of outmost importance to have clear knowledge about these specie and their behaviour at different situations. The aim of this study is to investigate the effect of n-Dodecyl β-D-maltoside surfactant (with 0.15 mM critical micelle concentration at 25°C) as an artificial resin on very small asphaltene aggregate behaviour in oil/water system through molecular dynamics simulation. We find out that these molecules can help completely disperse asphaltene trimer aggregate even with strong π-π interaction and they also prevent early stage pronounced oil phase separation in between asphaltene molecules in the span of our simulation time; smaller oil clusters are formed away and perpendicular to asphaltene molecules. |
| Keywords: |
| Asphaltene; Asphaltene Inhibitor, Molecular Dynamics |
| Status : Abstract Accepted (Poster Presentation) |