Article
A dielectric relaxation study of precipitation and curing of Furrial crude oil
Autor
Sheu, Eric Y.
Acevedo, Sócrates
Institución
Resumen
Low frequency dielectric spectroscopy was applied to investigate the properties of Furrial crude oil that is infamous for asphaltene
precipitation during production. An experiment was conducted at ambient temperature by mixing Furrial crude oil with hexane to
induce flocculation and subsequent precipitation. A drastic change in dielectric response was observed near the critical point when flocculation
occured. Evolution of the dielectric loss spectra as a function of time was observed and found to closely mimic epoxy-curing
process. The curing process lasted for approximately 44 h with an induction period of at least 26 h. During the induction period, the
conductivity contribution to the dielectric response remains dominant. Following the induction period a structural arrest occurs signaling
the onset of deposition.