METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR DETERMINING ASPHALTENE YIELD AND FLOCCULATION POINT OF CRUDE OIL

摘要

A method for determining an asphaltene yield curve and an asphaltene flocculation point includes obtaining a crude oil sample and measuring an optical spectrum of the crude oil sample. A titrant is then mixed with the crude oil sample at different concentrations. At each concentration, precipitated asphaltenes are filtered from the mixture and the optical spectrum of the filtrate is measured. The optical spectrum of the filtrate is then subtracted from the optical spectrum of the crude oil sample. A fractional asphaltene precipitation is determined for each concentration of titrant. A flocculation point is determined corresponding to an inflection point in the fractional asphaltene precipitation for each concentration of titrant.