The aggregation of asphaltenes has been established for decades by numerous experimental techniques; however, very few studies have been performed on the association free energy and asphaltene aggregation in solvents. The lack of reliable and coherent data on the free energy of association and aggregation size of asphaltene has imposed severe limitations on the thermodynamic modeling of asphaltene phase behavior. Current thermodynamic models either consider asphaltenes as non-associating components or use fitting parameters to characterize the association. In this work, the relations between Gibbs free energy of asphaltene association and asphaltene molecular structure are studied using molecular dynamics (MD). The free energy of association is computed from the potential of mean force profile along the separation distance between the centers of mass of two asphaltene molecules using the umbrella sampling technique in the GROMACS simulation package. The average aggregation number for asphaltene nanoaggregates and clusters is also calculated through MD simulations of 36 asphaltene molecules in toluene and heptane in order to estimate the effects of association free energy and steric repulsion on the aggregation behavior of asphaltenes. Our simulation results confirm that the interactions between aromatic cores of asphaltene molecules are the major driving force for association as the energy of association increases substantially with the number of aromatic rings. Moreover, heteroatoms attached to the aromatic cores have much more influence on the association free energy than to ones attached to the aliphatic chains. The length and number of aliphatic chains do not seem to have a noticeable effect on asphaltene dimerization; however, they have a profound effect on asphaltene aggregation size since steric repulsion can prevent asphaltenes from forming T-shape configurations and therefore decrease the aggregation size of asphaltenes significantly. Our MD simulation results show for the first time asphaltene precipitation in heptane as an explicit solvent, and predict three distinct stages of aggregation (nanoaggregation, clustering, and flocculation) as proposed by the modified Yen model. Finally, the association free energy for asphaltenes in heptane is higher than that in toluene, which is consistent with asphaltene aggregate sizes obtained from MD simulations.

The main objective of this study was to provide novel insights into the mechanism of asphaltene aggregation in toluene/heptane (Heptol) solutions and the effect of alkylphenols on asphaltene dispersion through the integration of advanced experimental and modeling methods. High-resolution transmission electron microscope (HRTEM) images revealed that the onset of asphaltene flocculation occurs near a toluene/heptane volume ratio of 70:30 and that flocculates are well below 1 μm in size. To assess the impact of alkylphenols on asphaltene aggregation, octylphenol (OP) and dodecylphenol (DP) were evaluated by impedance analysis based on their ability to delay the precipitation onset and to reduce the size of nonflocculated asphaltene aggregates in 80:20 toluene/heptane solutions. Although a longer dispersant chain length did not affect the precipitation onset, it reduced the size of the aggregates. Molecular dynamics simulations were then performed to understand the mechanism of interaction between a model asphaltene and OP in heptane. OP molecules saturated the H-bonding sites of asphaltenes and prevented them from interacting laterally between themselves. This explained why OP favored the formation of flocculates with filamentary rather than globular structures, which were clearly observed by HRTEM. Although OP proved to be an effective dispersant, its effectiveness was hindered by its self-association and the fact that it interacted at the periphery of asphaltenes, leaving their aromatic cores uncovered.

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A model of the dominant molecular and stable colloidal structures of asphaltenes has been proposed, the Yen− Mullins model. The formation of clusters of asphaltene nanoaggregates in toluene was reported elsewhere to occur at a concentration of a few grams per liter with a cluster aggregation number of approximately 8 (Mullins, O. C. Energy Fuels 2010, 24, 2179−2207). Here, we measure the DC-conductivity signal of toluene as a function of asphaltene concentration obtaining support for the critical clustering concentration (CCC) of a roughly 1.7 g/L in toluene. In addition, the small change in the Stokes drag at the CCC indicates that the cluster aggregation number is small, less than 10. The temperature variation of the CCC is measured to be small and within error, suggesting that cluster formation is entropically driven. Centrifugation experiments were also performed on asphaltene−toluene solutions at different concentrations. These experiments confirmed that a significant change in asphaltene aggregation occurs in the concentration range of the CCC. The CCC values from centrifugation and DC-conductivity measurements are roughly the same. The centrifugation experiments confirm a cluster size of ∼5 nm corroborating the small aggregation number found in the DC-conductivity experiments. These results add to the growing body of literature validating the Yen−Mullins model.

Unconventional reservoirs such as hydrocarbon-bearing shale formations and ultratight carbonates generate a large fraction of oil and gas production in North America. The characteristic feature of these reservoirs is their nanoscale porosity that provides significant surface areas between the pore walls and the occupying fluids. To better assess hydrocarbon recovery from these formations, it is crucial to develop an improved insight into the effects of wall-fluid interactions on the interfacial phenomena in these nanoscale confinements. One of the important properties that controls the displacement of fluids inside the pores is the threshold capillary pressure. In this study, we present the results of an integrated series of large-scale molecular dynamics (MD) simulations performed to investigate the effects of wall-fluid interactions on the threshold capillary pressures of oil-water/brine displacements in a calcite nanopore with a square cross section. Fully atomistic models are utilized to represent crude oil, brine, and calcite in order to accommodate electrostatic interactions and H-bonding between the polar molecules and the calcite surface. To this end, we create mixtures of various polar and nonpolar organic molecules to better represent the crude oil. The interfacial tension between oil and water/brine and their contact angle on calcite surface are simulated. We study the effects of oil composition, water salinity, and temperature and pressure conditions on these properties. The threshold capillary pressure values are also obtained from the MD simulations for the calcite nanopore. We then compare the MD results against those generated using the Mayer-Stowe-Princen (MSP) method and explain the differences.