Grant: Collaborative Research and Development Grants
University of Alberta
$95,650.00
Understanding the adsorption mechanisms of asphaltenes and other surface active components to different mineral and catalyst surfaces in oil production
EF 2013-14
Résumé
The proposed project deals with a very challenging issue confronting the Canadian and global petroleum industry. Many industrial problems in oil production such as wellbore or pipeline plugging, alteration of wettability of (clay minerals) solids, sedimentation during crude blending, and catalyst deactivation are all attributed, at least partly, to molecular aggregation and adsorption of asphaltenes and other surface active components (e.g., resins, naphthenic acids) upon exposure to an unfavourable liquid environment and to various solid-oil-water interfaces. Asphaltenes have strong tendency to self-associate leading to aggregates and adsorption to engineering surfaces (such as pipelines), resulting in reduction of oil production from the reservoir and serious processing problems in operations, i.e., corrosion, erosion and fouling in the heat exchangers, transportation devices and distillation equipment, causing a significant increase in operating cost. Although the adsorption of ashpaltenes and other surface active components onto mineral and clay surfaces has received much attention in petroleum industry, the understanding of adsorption mechanisms still remain very limited, particularly at the nanoscale and molecular level. The proposed research aims at a solid understanding of the adsorption and molecular interaction mechanisms of surface active chemicals (e.g., asphaltenes, resins) and their impact on the surface properties of various solids (e.g., clay minerals) in complex solvent condition, which will provide a foundation and greatly help the petroleum industry to address the challenging issues arising from the precipitation and fouling of asphlatenes and other surface active components in oil production. The proposed research is of both fundamental and practical importance. The research results and fundamentals established in this project are applicable to both the production of crude oil and extraction of oil sands of Shell and all other oil companies in Canada and globally.
Programme
Collaborative Research and Development Grants
Bénéficiaire
Emplacement
Alberta, Canada
Type de bénéficiaire
Academia
Type
Grant
Source
NSERC's Awards Data
Tel que publié
Application id
444969-2012
Name nom
Zeng, Hongbo
Department département
Chemical and Materials Engineering
Organization id
9
Institution établissement
University of Alberta
Province en
Alberta
Province fr
Alberta
Country en
CANADA
Country fr
CANADA
Fiscal year exercice financier
2013
Competition year année de concours
2012
Award amount
95650
Program id
CRDPJ
Program name en
Collaborative Research and Development Grants
Program name fr
Subventions de recherche et développement coopérative
Group en
Research partnerships programs
Group fr
Programmes de partenariat
Committee code
96
Committee name en
RPP Internal Decision Cttee
Committee name fr
Cté de décision interne - PPR
Area of application code
300
Area of application group en
Energy resources
Area of application group fr
Ressources d'énergie
Area of application en
Energy resources (including production, exploration, processing, distribution and use)
Area of application fr
Ressources d'énergie (production, exploration, traitement, distribution et utilisation de l'énergie)
Research subject code
1800
Research subject group en
Chemical engineering
Research subject group fr
Génie chimique
Research subject en
Chemical engineering
Research subject fr
Génie chimique
Partie
1
Nb partie
4
Application title
Understanding the adsorption mechanisms of asphaltenes and other surface active components to different mineral and catalyst surfaces in oil production
Keyword
NSERC
Application summary
The proposed project deals with a very challenging issue confronting the Canadian and global petroleum industry. Many industrial problems in oil production such as wellbore or pipeline plugging, alteration of wettability of (clay minerals) solids, sedimentation during crude blending, and catalyst deactivation are all attributed, at least partly, to molecular aggregation and adsorption of asphaltenes and other surface active components (e.g., resins, naphthenic acids) upon exposure to an unfavourable liquid environment and to various solid-oil-water interfaces. Asphaltenes have strong tendency to self-associate leading to aggregates and adsorption to engineering surfaces (such as pipelines), resulting in reduction of oil production from the reservoir and serious processing problems in operations, i.e., corrosion, erosion and fouling in the heat exchangers, transportation devices and distillation equipment, causing a significant increase in operating cost. Although the adsorption of ashpaltenes and other surface active components onto mineral and clay surfaces has received much attention in petroleum industry, the understanding of adsorption mechanisms still remain very limited, particularly at the nanoscale and molecular level. The proposed research aims at a solid understanding of the adsorption and molecular interaction mechanisms of surface active chemicals (e.g., asphaltenes, resins) and their impact on the surface properties of various solids (e.g., clay minerals) in complex solvent condition, which will provide a foundation and greatly help the petroleum industry to address the challenging issues arising from the precipitation and fouling of asphlatenes and other surface active components in oil production. The proposed research is of both fundamental and practical importance. The research results and fundamentals established in this project are applicable to both the production of crude oil and extraction of oil sands of Shell and all other oil companies in Canada and globally.
