The destabilization of asphaltenes in crude oil mainly happens due to variations in pressure, temperature, and oil composition; causing significant losses. Polymers containing specific groups can be used as asphaltene stabilizers, thus avoiding their precipitation, or as asphaltene flocculants in a particular type of unconventional oil, for example, assisting in further destabilization of the model system to enable removal of suspended fine solids, such as kaolinite. Asphaltene precipitation is usually evaluated by tests with variation in stability of asphaltenes in function of adding a flocculant solvent. In this work, two molecules with different amounts of cardanol and styrene are synthesized and structurally characterized by FTIR and 1H NMR. Their molar mass is also determined by SEC and their thermal stability is measured by TGA. In addition, the efficiency of these synthesized molecules as asphaltene dispersants or flocculants is analyzed. The stability of asphaltenes is monitored by precipitation tests induced by a flocculant agent (n‐heptane), using an ultraviolet–visible (UV–vis) spectrometer. The synthesis results indicated formation of an oligomer instead of a polymer. The asphaltene stability results indicate that the synthesized molecules can act as asphaltene flocculants, decreasing the onset of precipitation to smaller volumes of n‐heptane. Furthermore, the increase in concentration of these synthesized molecules in the model systems containing asphaltenes dispersed in mixtures of toluene and n‐heptane in different concentrations promote greater flocculant action of the asphaltenes.

Oilsands are suspended fine solids in bitumen in which asphaltenes become adsorbed on the surfaces of these particles, reducing the quality of the oil and hence generating higher costs for the oil industry. Since some polymers containing specific functional groups are able to interact with asphaltenes, it can be expected that these kinds of polymers are able to reduce the amount of asphaltene adsorbed. In this work, the performance of three (co)polymers, with different molar ratios of cardanol and styrene was evaluated in the adsorption process of a model system (pentane insoluble asphaltenes-C5I in kaolinite) monitored by ultraviolet-visible spectrometry. Kaolinite and asphaltene were characterized by scanning electron microscopy with energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy and the wettability of these samples was measured with a goniometer, before and after the adsorption process. The increase in polymer concentration (from 0.025 to 0.2%w/v) reduced the amount of adsorbed asphaltenes on kaolinite. Polycardanol homopolymer presented the best performance, indicating the important role of the hydroxyl group and pendent hydrocarbon chain on the adsorption of asphaltenes on kaolinite. The results evidence the potential of polycardanol, obtained from a renewable source, in the extraction process of bitumen from oil sand.