Viscosity of base-treated asphaltene solutions

The viscosity behaviour of base-treated Ratawi asphaltene-toluene solutions was compared with that of untreated solutions. NaOH solutions (1, 3 and 6 M) were used to treat the asphaltene solutions by mechanical mixing followed by overnight two-phase equilibrium. The treatment noticeably affected the...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inFuel (Guildford) Vol. 73; no. 11; pp. 1766 - 1771
Main Authors Sheu, Eric Y., Shields, Michael B., Storm, David A.
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published Elsevier Ltd 01.11.1994
Subjects
asphaltene
colloidal properties
viscosity
colloidal properties
viscosity
asphaltene
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Summary:The viscosity behaviour of base-treated Ratawi asphaltene-toluene solutions was compared with that of untreated solutions. NaOH solutions (1, 3 and 6 M) were used to treat the asphaltene solutions by mechanical mixing followed by overnight two-phase equilibrium. The treatment noticeably affected the viscosity, particularly for asphaltene volume fractions ( ø) > 0.13. The simple Pal-Rhodes analysis indicated that the systems became very non-ideal, even at ø < 0.1, probably owing to the charges introduced into the asphaltene colloids. The Dougherty-Krieger formula failed to explain the data. The Mooney equation qualitatively characterized the particle polydispersity but not the interactions. The interaction was interpreted by a two-fluid model. The results showed that the interaction potential, V( r), between the asphaltene colloids was extensively modified, corresponding to a longer-range interaction potential, which leads to a much smaller maximum packing volume fraction ø m .
ISSN:0016-2361
1873-7153
DOI:10.1016/0016-2361(94)90165-1