Effect of low-salinity water on asphaltene precipitation |
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| Authors: | Abolhasan Ameri Dariush Mowla |
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| Institution: | Department of Chemical and Petroleum Engineering, School of Chemical and Petroleum Engineering, Enhanced Oil and Gas Recovery Institute, Advanced Research Group for Gas Condensate Recovery, Shiraz University, Shiraz, Iran |
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| Abstract: | The effect of low-salinity (1000 to 5000?ppm) and intermediate-salinity (5000 to 40000?ppm) water (MgSO4, MgCl2, Na2SO4, CaCl2, NaCl and KCl) on asphaltene precipitation was investigated in this work. The results revealed that all brines intensify the amount of asphaltene precipitation. All cases exhibited initial downward trend followed by the upward trend for the amount of asphaltene precipitation with increasing the brine concentration. A similar trend was also observed for Interfacial Tension (IFT) between crude oil and brine in this study. IFT was tested for MgSO4, MgCl2, Na2SO4, CaCl2, NaCl and KCl brines with concentrations of 1000 to 40000?ppm. Finally, experimental results showed that an increase in volume of all brines in the mixture (brine +oil) led to increase and decrease of the asphaltene precipitation in low and intermediate salinity regions, respectively. |
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| Keywords: | Asphaltene brine interfacial tension (IFT) low-salinity water precipitation |
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