Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2024 Mar 28;9(14):15982-15995.
doi: 10.1021/acsomega.3c09294. eCollection 2024 Apr 9.

Asphaltene Adsorption on Solid Surfaces Investigated Using Quartz Crystal Microbalance with Dissipation under Flow Conditions

Archana Jagadisan  1 , Sanjoy Banerjee  1
Affiliations

Asphaltene Adsorption on Solid Surfaces Investigated Using Quartz Crystal Microbalance with Dissipation under Flow Conditions

Archana Jagadisan et al. ACS Omega. .

Abstract

Asphaltenes can cause operational challenges in petroleum production facilities and adversely affect production by adsorption on mineral surfaces and alteration of the oil wettability of reservoirs. Therefore, understanding asphaltene adsorption mechanisms and their effects is crucial to improving the efficiency of oil production and reducing costs. In this study, we focus on understanding the impact of asphaltene concentration and the depositing environment of asphaltene adsorption on solid surfaces using the quartz crystal microbalance with dissipation (QCM-D) technique. The initial and long-term kinetics of adsorption at different concentrations were examined on three different solid surfaces including silicon dioxide to represent quartz mineral, stainless steel, and gold. The frequency-dissipation data showed evidence of monolayer adsorption initially, followed by multilayer formation. At short times, the adsorbed mass increased linearly with time, suggesting that the process was kinetically controlled rather than diffusion-controlled. The results were reproducible and did not depend on convection velocity but did depend on the surface material. At later stages, the monolayer development appeared to follow the random sequential adsorption (RSA) theory. Once multilayer adsorption commenced, the rates agreed well with the two-layer model of Zhu and Gu, 1990. The impact of asphaltene adsorption on the wettability of the surface was examined using contact angle studies, which showed decreasing water wettability with an increase in the adsorbed mass. The contact angle of water after 12 h of adsorption leveled off at around 100° on all three surfaces. Contact angle measurements were also used to evaluate if brine salinity causes the wettability alteration of surfaces with the adsorbed asphaltene. The results indicate that at 3% NaCl solution, the contact angle decreased only slightly by less than 2°.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no competing financial interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Repeatability of the adsorbed asphaltene mass on a quartz surface (3 runs) under flow conditions.
Figure 2
Figure 2
(a) Effect of the flow rate on the amount of adsorbed asphaltene mass onto a gold crystal surface vs time at different flow rates. (b) Close-up of change in frequency vs time for 50 and 100 μL/min.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Adsorption kinetics of different concentrations (10–50 ppm) of asphaltene dissolved in toluene (15 v/v %) and Nexbase (85 v/v %) on (a) stainless steel, (b) quartz, and (c) gold surfaces.
Figure 4
Figure 4
Comparison of asphaltene adsorption on stainless steel, silicon dioxide, and gold surfaces.
Figure 5
Figure 5
Comparison of long-term asphaltene adsorption on stainless steel, silicon dioxide, and gold surfaces for 50 ppm concentration.
Figure 6
Figure 6
Dissipation vs frequency change plot for adsorbed asphaltenes at different concentrations on (a) stainless steel, (b) silicon dioxide, and (c) gold surfaces.
Figure 7
Figure 7
Adsorption isotherm of asphaltene on gold, stainless steel, and silicon-dioxide vs ZG model fit.
Figure 8
Figure 8
SEM images of asphaltene adsorption on a gold-coated QCM surface at 1000 times magnification at asphaltene concentrations of (a) 10 and (b) 50 ppm.
Figure 9
Figure 9
Dynamic adsorption vs time for asphaltenes at different concentrations on (a) stainless steel, (b) silicon dioxide, and (c) gold surfaces.
Figure 10
Figure 10
Surface coverage vs reciprocal of square root of time for different concentrations at longer times for dynamic adsorption vs time for asphaltenes at different concentrations on (a) stainless steel, (b) silicon dioxide, and (c) gold surfaces.
Figure 11
Figure 11
Contact angle of water droplet on (a) stainless steel, (b) silicon dioxide, and (c) gold surfaces after the adsorption of asphaltenes at different concentrations.
Figure 12
Figure 12
Contact angle of water droplet after 12 h in asphaltene solution on stainless steel, silicon dioxide, and gold surfaces.
Figure 13
Figure 13
Contact angle of water droplet as a function of adsorbed mass for stainless steel, silicon dioxide, and gold surfaces.
Figure 14
Figure 14
Contact angle of water droplet after 12 h in asphaltene solution on stainless steel, silicon dioxide, and gold surfaces.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

Similar articles

See all similar articles

References

    1. Hassanzadeh M.; Abdouss M. Essential role of structure, architecture, and intermolecular interactions of asphaltene molecules on properties (self-association and surface activity). Heliyon 2022, 8, e1217010.1016/j.heliyon.2022.e12170. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Sjöblom J.; Simon S.; Xu Z. Model molecules mimicking asphaltenes. Advances in colloid and interface science 2015, 218, 1–16. 10.1016/j.cis.2015.01.002. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Mullins O. C.; Sabbah H.; Eyssautier J.; Pomerantz A. E.; Barré L.; Andrews A. B.; Zare R. N. Advances in asphaltene science and the Yen–Mullins model. Energy Fuels 2012, 26 (7), 3986–4003. 10.1021/ef300185p. - DOI
    1. Groenzin H.; Mullins O. C. Molecular size and structure of asphaltenes from various sources. Energy Fuels 2000, 14 (3), 677–684. 10.1021/ef990225z. - DOI
    1. Alimohammadi S.; Zendehboudi S.; James L. A comprehensive review of asphaltene deposition in petroleum reservoirs: Theory, challenges, and tips. Fuel 2019, 252, 753–791. 10.1016/j.fuel.2019.03.016. - DOI

LinkOut - more resources