A study on the composition of heavy organic precipitates at various locations of a petroleum production line: wellhead, separator, and flowline
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Taylor & Francis
Abstract
Description
The heavy fractions from crude oil samples from different locations of a petroleum
production line was investigated by gravimetric precipitation technique through the
varying of n-alkane precipitant(s) type, volume, and volume ratios. The type of heavy
organics (HOs) obtained at the different locations was studied using chromatographic
fractionation into saturates, aromatics, resins and residual asphaltenes. Saturates and
aromatics compositions were qualitatively and quantitatively determined by Gas
Chromatographic-Flame Ionization Detection (GC-FID), while Ultraviolet-Visible
spectroscopy was used for the resins. The results obtained show that the amounts of
HOs precipitated changes with precipitants type, volume, and volume ratios and are in
the order: wellhead (WH) > flowline (FL) > separator (SR). With changes in the total
volume of precipitant binary mixtures, maximum precipitation is obtained at 40 mL/g of
oil. Between 70–80 mL/g of oil, the amount of precipitate produced remain constant for
all samples. There is no clear-cut trend in the concentration of individual and total
saturate and aromatic compositions of the heavy organics along the different locations
of the production system. However, the concentration of resins increases in the order:
separator > flowline > wellhead.
Keywords
QD Chemistry