What is the main factor that contributes to formation of asphaltene?

Asphaltene precipitation is caused by a number of factors including changes in pressure, temperature, and composition. The two most prevalent causes of asphaltene precipitation in the reservoir are decreasing pressure and mixing of oil with injected solvent in improved oil recovery (IOR) processes.

What is asphaltene inhibitor?

An asphaltene inhibitor is a chemical used in the oil and gas industry to remove asphaltenes from crude oil. Asphaltenes are the impurities found in crude oil that if not removed can choke refining equipment. Heavy crude oil contains solid ashpaltene deposits during the production stage.

What is asphaltene used for?

Asphaltenes in the form of asphalt or bitumen products from oil refineries are used as paving materials on roads, shingles for roofs, and waterproof coatings on building foundations.

What is the difference between asphalt and asphaltene?

is that asphaltene is (organic chemistry) any of the dark organic constituents of crude oils and bitumen that are soluble in aromatic solvents but not in aliphatic ones; they are polycyclic aromatic compounds (composed of fused benzene rings) with aliphatic side chains while asphalt is a sticky, black and highly …

What is API gravity in crude oil?

API gravity is measured as the inverse of the density of a petroleum liquid relative to water. The higher the API gravity, the lower the density of the petroleum liquid, so light oils have high API gravities.

What is wax in crude oil?

The wax existing in crude oil mostly contains paraffin hydrocarbon (C18-C36) recognized as paraffin wax and naphthenic hydrocarbon (C30-C60). The hydrocarbon element of wax is able to present in several phases, i.e., gas, liquid, and particles (solids), relying on the flow conditions, i.e., pressure and temperature.

Is asphaltene a asphalt?

Bitumen (asphalt) is the highest-boiling point, heaviest and most polar fraction from the vacuum distillation of crude oil. Bitumen is composed of asphaltene and maltene. The heavy insoluble asphaltene molecules give bitumen its body and softening point while the maltenes are oily and make asphalt flexible.

What is API gravity and how is it calculated?

API gravity is gradated in degrees on a hydrometer instrument and was designed so that most values would fall between 10° and 70° API gravity. The arbitrary formula used to obtain this effect is: API gravity = (141.5/SG at 60 degF) – 131.5, where SG is the specific gravity of the fluid.