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Effect of ultrasound irradiation on asphaltene aggregation and implications to rheological behavior of bitumen

ABSTRACT: Highlights • The contribution of asphaltene aggregation to bitumen viscosity is studied.• The ultrasound waves reduce the viscosity of the bitumen.• The applied frequency and the gas environment influence the bitumen viscosity reduction.• A positive correlation between the asphaltene yield and the viscosity is established. The present work investigates the contribution of asphaltene aggregation to bitumen viscosity subject to ultrasound irradiation. A West-African bitumen with a viscosity of 12043 cP at room temperature was sonicated at low (38 kHz) and mild frequency (200 kHz) under controlled gas environment including air, nitrogen (N2) and carbon dioxide (CO2). The rheology of the bitumen, asphaltene content analyses as well as spectral studies were conducted. Herein was found that sonicating the bitumen at 200 kHz under air-environment reduces the initial viscosity up to 2079 cP, which was twice larger than that obtained when a low frequency was used. In respect of the gas environment, it was shown that ultrasound irradiation under N2 environment could lower the bitumen viscosity up to 3274 cP. A positive correlation between the asphaltene content and the viscosity reduction was established. The results from the spectral analyses including Fast Fourier Infrared and the observations from Scanned Electron Microscope were consistent with the rheological studies and led to the argument that the viscosity reduction results from either the scission of long chain molecules attached to the aromatic rings (when the applied frequency was altered under fixed gas environment) or the self-aggregation of asphaltene monomers (when gas environment was changed at fixed frequency).

SUBMITTER: Nguele R

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8567299 | biostudies-literature |

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Project description:Heavy oil and bitumen play a vital role in the global energy supply, and to unlock such resources, thermal methods, e.g., steam injection, are applied. To improve the performance of these methods, different additives, such as air, solvents, and chemicals, can be used. As a subset of chemicals, surfactants are one of the potential additives for steam-based bitumen recovery methods. Molecular interactions between surfactant/steam/bitumen have not been addressed in the literature. This paper investigates molecular interactions between anionic surfactants, steam, and bitumen in high-temperature and high-pressure conditions. For this purpose, a real Athabasca oil sand composition is employed to assess the phase behavior of surfactant/steam/bitumen under in-situ steam-based bitumen recovery. Two different asphaltene architectures, archipelago and Island, are used to examine the effect of asphaltene type on bitumen's interfacial behavior. The influence of having sulfur heteroatoms in a resin structure and a benzene ring's effect in an anionic surfactant structure on surfactant-steam-bitumen interactions are investigated systematically. The outputs are supported by different analyses, including radial distribution functions (RDFs), mean squared displacement (MSD), radius of gyration, self-diffusion coefficient, solvent accessible surface area (SASA), interfacial thickness, and interaction energies. According to MD outputs, adding surfactant molecules to the steam phase improved the interaction energy between steam and bitumen. Moreover, surfactants can significantly improve steam emulsification capability by decreasing the interfacial tension (IFT) between bitumen and the steam phase. Asphaltene architecture has a considerable effect on the interfacial behavior in such systems. This study provides a better and more in-depth understanding of surfactant-steam-bitumen systems and spotlights the interactions between bitumen fractions and surfactant molecules under thermal recovery conditions.

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Effect of ultrasound irradiation on asphaltene aggregation and implications to rheological behavior of bitumen

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