Pore-scale imaging of asphaltene deposition with permeability reduction and wettability alteration

To better understand asphaltene deposition mechanisms and their influence on rock permeability and wettability, we have developed an in situ micro-CT imaging capability to observe asphaltene precipitation during multiphase flow at high resolution in three dimensions. Pure heptane and crude oil were...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Fuel (Guildford) 2022-05, Vol.316, p.123202, Article 123202
Main Authors: Zhang, Yihuai, Lin, Qingyang, Raeini, Ali Q., Onaka, Yutaka, Iwama, Hiroki, Takabayashi, Katsumo, Blunt, Martin J., Bijeljic, Branko
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Asphaltene
Asphaltenes
Computed tomography
Contact angle
Crude oil
Deposition
Formation damage
Heptanes
Imaging
Membrane permeability
Multiphase flow
Permeability
Porous media
Reduction
Refineries
Rocks
Sandstone
Wettability
Wettability alteration
Workflow
X-ray microtomography
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Summary:To better understand asphaltene deposition mechanisms and their influence on rock permeability and wettability, we have developed an in situ micro-CT imaging capability to observe asphaltene precipitation during multiphase flow at high resolution in three dimensions. Pure heptane and crude oil were simultaneously injected to induce asphaltene precipitation in the pore space of a sandstone rock sample. The heptane permeability across the sample was nine times lower after the first asphaltene precipitation, while it was reduced by a factor of ninety due to asphaltene migration and growth after subsequent brine injection. Furthermore, through quantifying the curvatures and contact angles on the images before and after asphaltene precipitation, we observed that the wettability of the porous medium changed from water-wet to mixed-wet. Overall, we demonstrate a micro-CT imaging and analysis workflow to quantify asphaltene deposition, permeability reduction and wettability change which can be used for reservoir characterisation and remediation.
ISSN:0016-2361
1873-7153
DOI:10.1016/j.fuel.2022.123202