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Could ASCI be used as the "WAT" of Asphaltenes ? Illustration Through the Study of the Polydispersity of PetroPhase 2017 Asphaltenes Nicolas Passade-Boupat, Jean-Philippe Gingras, Carole Desplobins, and Honggang Zhou Energy Fuels, Just Accepted Manuscript • DOI: 10.1021/acs.energyfuels.7b02779 • Publication Date (Web): 09 Jan 2018 Downloaded from http://pubs.acs.org on January 10, 2018
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Energy & Fuels
Passade-Boupat Page 1 1
Could ASCI be used as the "WAT" of asphaltenes ? Illustration through
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the study of the polydispersity of Petrophase 2017 asphaltenes
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Nicolas Passade-Boupata,b, Jean-Philippe Gingrasa,b, Carole Desplobinsa,b, Honggang Zhoua
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a: TOTAL SA, b: Laboratoire "Physicochimie des Interfaces Complexes", TOTAL/ESPCI
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Could ASCI be the "WAT" of asphaltenes ?
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[First Authors Last Name] Page 2 1
Abstract
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Being able to assess the solubility properties of asphaltenes is essential for oilfield asphaltene
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risk assessment. The solubility distribution of the PetroPhase 2017 Asphaltenes was
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characterized using the Asphaltene Solubility Class Index (ASCI) which a simple methodology
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based on precipitation onset determination in different Heptols. This ASCI method was also used
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to measure the polydispersity in terms of solubility for PetroPhase 2017 Asphaltenes that were
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fractionated from the native crude oil with precipitants of different qualities. Similarly to other
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crude oils, asphaltenes from the Petrophase 2017 have high level of polydispersity ranging from
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fractions “insoluble in Toluene” to “soluble in Heptane” which may seem contradictory with
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usual definition of asphaltenes. The modification of the precipitant-to-crude oil ratio, with
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heptane as precipitant, also highlighted the presence co-precipitated materials that did not affect
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the solubility class of asphaltenes. From our experience over the last fifteen years, using ASCI or
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another equivalent tool , would greatly improve the comparison between different studies on
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asphaltene, similarly to the well known Wax Appearance Temperature which is measured and
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reported in in the vast majority of studies on paraffins.
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Introduction
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Asphaltenes are traditionally defined as a solubility class that is soluble in light aromatics,
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usually toluene, but is insoluble in lighter paraffins, usually heptane [ 1 ]. Since their discovery,
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the origin of the word "asphaltene" going back to antiquity, they have been the subject of many
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studies. Indeed, during production of hydrocarbon, asphaltene can phase separate and cause
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plugging issues [ 2 ], or adsorb at oil/water interfaces, and affect oil water emulsion stability [ 3
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