Effect of cavitation on the structural characteristics of oil asphaltenes

Objectives. To investigate the influence of hydrodynamic cavitation on the group hydrocarbon composition of straight-run fuel oil and the structural characteristics of its asphaltenes.

Methods. The cavitation treatment of fuel oil was carried out in hydrodynamic mode using a Donor-2 device. The pressure drop in the working part was 50 MPa, while the number of treatment cycles varied from 1 to 10. In some cases, to intensify the process, the fuel oil was compounded with low-boiling hydrocarbons (propane-butane fraction, decalin). The determination of the group hydrocarbon composition of the sample was based on the different solubility of hydrocarbons in polar and nonpolar solvents; asphaltenes were studied by diffractometry and Raman spectroscopy.

Results. It is shown that the group hydrocarbon composition of the sample changes as a result of the cavitation effect: the content of resins and asphaltenes decreases, the amount of the oil fraction increases, and its group hydrocarbon composition is altered. It was found that cavitation exposure also changes the structural characteristics of asphaltenes: they decrease the La and Lc crystallite parameters that characterize their dimensions in plane and height, as well as increase the distance between alkyl substituents and the degree of plasticity of asphaltenes. The processing of Raman spectra by various methods demonstrated consistent results: in all cases, an increase in the intensity of exposure led to an increase in the structural disorder of asphaltenes. In the case of preliminary compounding of the sample with low-boiling hydrocarbons, the effect of cavitation was enhanced.

Conclusions. The results obtained may indicate the localization of cavitation bubbles at the boundaries of complex structural units of the dispersed petroleum system formed by asphalt-resinous substances and a dispersion medium. For this reason, it is resins and asphaltenes that are most exposed to the thermal effects that occur when cavitation bubbles collapse. The destruction of resins and asphaltenes leads to a decrease in the size of complex structural units and consequent decrease in the viscosity of the petroleum dispersed system, while the oil fraction is enriched with saturated hydrocarbons. 

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