Energy & Fuels, Vol.21, No.3, 1256-1262, 2007
Physical state and aging of flocculated asphaltenes
The phase transition leading to the petroleum asphaltene flocculation is considered as either a liquid-solid or liquid-liquid transition. Despite the fact that asphaltenes obtained by the usual procedure are amorphous solids, numerous arguments support the second hypothesis. In this work, we present studies of asphaltene flocculation kinetics and compare the results with the kinetics of coalescence of flocculated asphaltenes that have been redispersed mechanically in the solvent. Redispersion of flocculated asphaltenes was realized using an ultrasound bath. Kinetic measurements were performed using a dynamic light scattering technique. The Malvern 4800 apparatus used in this study makes it possible for us to observe the growth of aggregates in the range of 2-5000 nm. It was found that kinetic curves for redispersed asphaltenes are very similar to those of the initial flocculation induced by an antisolvent. This finding confirms the liquid-like behavior of flocculated asphaltenes. Moreover, the energy of cohesion of asphaltene aggregates is very low, and consequently, the amount of energy needed for redispersion is also low. The aging of the flocculated sample accelerates the aggregation kinetics, which points to very slow reorganization of the asphaltene structure, leading to more compact, solid-like flocs.