High-throughput packed-bed microreactors with in-line analytics for the discovery of asphaltene deposition mechanisms

Understanding asphaltene nanoaggregation kinetics is a key to predicting the deposition in pure quartz-grain porous media. High-throughput quartz packed-bed microreactors (μPBRs) were, therefore, designed to provide mechanistic insights by merging oilfield chemistry and microchemical systems. In-line UV-Vis spectroscopy and pressure transducer were used to characterize the stable packing of quartz particles with porosity of ~40% and permeability of ~5.5 × 10^-13 m². Temperature (25.0-90.0°C), n-heptane composition (50.0-80.0 vol %), and n-alkane (n-C₅ to n-C₉) were all observed to influence asphaltenes deposition in the porous media, and reduced dispersion was obtained in the damaged packed-bed by estimating dispersion coefficients and the Bodenstein number. Deposition by mechanical entrapment dominated the mechanism in all scenarios, as discovered by the simplified Kozeny-Carman and Civan's permeability-porosity relationships. The results could aid in the design of remediations that minimize production losses of considerable economic magnitude.