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Investigation Of Asphaltene Adsorption At Liquid-Liquid And Liquid-Solid Interfaces, Fang Liu

Dissertations and Theses

Asphaltenes, as indigenous components in crude oils, are believed to play an important role in the petroleum production and processing industry. For example, asphaltene molecules can adsorb onto the water / oil interface like the amphiphiles and hinder water droplet coalescence, resulting in the stabilization of water-in-oil emulsions. Also, in the upstream production, depending on the temperature and pressure, asphaltenes can precipitate and deposit onto the reservoir rocks, the wellbores and the pipelines, leading to the change in reservoir rocks’ surface wettability and the blockage of the production facilities. Hence, it is crucial to understand the mechanism of asphaltenes adsorption …