960化工网
Mechanism of asphaltene aggregation induced by supercritical CO2: insights from molecular dynamics simulation†
Bing Liu,Jiawei Li,Chao Qi,Xiaoqi Li,Tingyi Mai,Jun Zhang
RSC Advances Pub Date : 11/01/2017 00:00:00 , DOI:10.1039/C7RA09736K
Abstract

The mechanisms of asphaltene aggregation leading to damage and wellbore plugging are still unknown, which is not conducive to finding effective solutions to the relevant problems of asphaltene precipitation in supercritical CO2 (scCO2) enhanced oil recovery processes. Therefore, molecular dynamics simulations were performed on an oil–scCO2 system to investigate the behavior and mechanism of asphaltene aggregation. The results show that the selective extraction of crude oil in scCO2 leads to the formation of asphaltene nanoaggregates. The vdW interactions among asphaltenes in scCO2 are stronger than those under vacuum, which aggravates aggregation. Free energy calculations indicate that the remaining binding energy between asphaltenes in scCO2 is the driving force of asphaltene aggregation. Interestingly, we observed a two-step process of separation and aggregation for asphaltene nanoaggregates, which demonstrates that the efficiency of inhibiting asphaltene aggregation can be improved by adding an inhibitor in the first step of aggregation in scCO2 flooding.

Graphical abstract: Mechanism of asphaltene aggregation induced by supercritical CO2: insights from molecular dynamics simulation
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