Asphaltene transformation and agglomeration in compressed light oil systems under carbon dioxide injection in a porous structure: A molecular dynamics study
The rising depletion of light fossil fuels is leading to an increasing global dependence on heavy oil production. Asphaltene deposition poses a significant challenge in the application of improved oil recovery by CO2 injection, adversely affecting reservoir permeability and extraction efficiency. De...
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2025-10-01
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| Series: | Case Studies in Thermal Engineering |
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| Online Access: | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2214157X25010299 |
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| author | Yaning Qu Xiaogang Bai Ali B.M. Ali Murtadha M. Al-Zahiwat Narinderjit Singh Sawaran Singh Hani Sahramaneshi Riadh Marzouki |
| author_facet | Yaning Qu Xiaogang Bai Ali B.M. Ali Murtadha M. Al-Zahiwat Narinderjit Singh Sawaran Singh Hani Sahramaneshi Riadh Marzouki |
| author_sort | Yaning Qu |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | The rising depletion of light fossil fuels is leading to an increasing global dependence on heavy oil production. Asphaltene deposition poses a significant challenge in the application of improved oil recovery by CO2 injection, adversely affecting reservoir permeability and extraction efficiency. Despite previous research highlighting the importance of this problem, there was a critical deficiency of knowledge on the impacts of pressure changes on asphaltene agglomeration and structural transformation at the atomic level in compressed light oil reservoirs. This research addressed the information gap using molecular dynamics simulations to elucidate the intricate processes of asphaltene aggregation under CO2 injection. The findings demonstrate that the model structure reached stability after 10 ns, with total and potential energies converging at 52.39 and 51.53 kcal/mol, respectively. The maximum density increases markedly from 0.3789 to 0.3889 atm/Å3 as pressure increases from 0.5 to 2 bar. Furthermore, the gyration radius of asphaltene molecules increases from 30.02 to 33.95 Å owing to elevated pressure, signifying enhanced molecular dispersion, whereas viscosity had a little reduction from 21.09 to 20.64 Pa s. Conversely, when the concentration of asphaltene molecules increases from 11 to 44, the profile increases from 0.3656 to 0.4138 atm/Å3. The radius of gyration decreased from 30.66 to 29.07 Å, whilst the viscosity increases markedly from 23.16 to 28.50 Pa s. These results expand understanding of asphaltene molecular dynamics during CO2 injection, providing essential information for optimizing enhanced oil recovery and preventing reservoir impairment. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-084901d3bd4d41b185ad188f18b7e288 |
| institution | DOAJ |
| issn | 2214-157X |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-10-01 |
| publisher | Elsevier |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Case Studies in Thermal Engineering |
| spelling | doaj-art-084901d3bd4d41b185ad188f18b7e2882025-08-20T03:15:39ZengElsevierCase Studies in Thermal Engineering2214-157X2025-10-017410676910.1016/j.csite.2025.106769Asphaltene transformation and agglomeration in compressed light oil systems under carbon dioxide injection in a porous structure: A molecular dynamics studyYaning Qu0Xiaogang Bai1Ali B.M. Ali2Murtadha M. Al-Zahiwat3Narinderjit Singh Sawaran Singh4Hani Sahramaneshi5Riadh Marzouki6Yanchang Petroleum Company Limited, Yan'an, Shaanxi, 716000, China; Corresponding author.ShaanxiYanchang Petroleum Yan'an Energy Chemical Co., Ltd., Yan'an, Shaanxi, 716000, ChinaAir Conditioning Engineering Department, College of Engineering, University of Warith Al-Anbiyaa, Karbala, IraqDepartment of Chemical Engineering, College of Engineering, University of Misan, Amarah, IraqFaculty of Data Science and Information Technology, INTI International University, Persiaran Perdana BBN, Putra Nilai, Nilai, 71800, MalaysiaFast Computing Center, Shabihsazan Ati Pars, Tehran, Iran; Corresponding author.Department of Chemistry, College of Science, King Khalid University, P.O. Box 9004, 61413, Abha, Saudi ArabiaThe rising depletion of light fossil fuels is leading to an increasing global dependence on heavy oil production. Asphaltene deposition poses a significant challenge in the application of improved oil recovery by CO2 injection, adversely affecting reservoir permeability and extraction efficiency. Despite previous research highlighting the importance of this problem, there was a critical deficiency of knowledge on the impacts of pressure changes on asphaltene agglomeration and structural transformation at the atomic level in compressed light oil reservoirs. This research addressed the information gap using molecular dynamics simulations to elucidate the intricate processes of asphaltene aggregation under CO2 injection. The findings demonstrate that the model structure reached stability after 10 ns, with total and potential energies converging at 52.39 and 51.53 kcal/mol, respectively. The maximum density increases markedly from 0.3789 to 0.3889 atm/Å3 as pressure increases from 0.5 to 2 bar. Furthermore, the gyration radius of asphaltene molecules increases from 30.02 to 33.95 Å owing to elevated pressure, signifying enhanced molecular dispersion, whereas viscosity had a little reduction from 21.09 to 20.64 Pa s. Conversely, when the concentration of asphaltene molecules increases from 11 to 44, the profile increases from 0.3656 to 0.4138 atm/Å3. The radius of gyration decreased from 30.66 to 29.07 Å, whilst the viscosity increases markedly from 23.16 to 28.50 Pa s. These results expand understanding of asphaltene molecular dynamics during CO2 injection, providing essential information for optimizing enhanced oil recovery and preventing reservoir impairment.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2214157X25010299AsphalteneAgglomeration processCarbon dioxideInitial pressureMolecular dynamics simulation |
| spellingShingle | Yaning Qu Xiaogang Bai Ali B.M. Ali Murtadha M. Al-Zahiwat Narinderjit Singh Sawaran Singh Hani Sahramaneshi Riadh Marzouki Asphaltene transformation and agglomeration in compressed light oil systems under carbon dioxide injection in a porous structure: A molecular dynamics study Case Studies in Thermal Engineering Asphaltene Agglomeration process Carbon dioxide Initial pressure Molecular dynamics simulation |
| title | Asphaltene transformation and agglomeration in compressed light oil systems under carbon dioxide injection in a porous structure: A molecular dynamics study |
| title_full | Asphaltene transformation and agglomeration in compressed light oil systems under carbon dioxide injection in a porous structure: A molecular dynamics study |
| title_fullStr | Asphaltene transformation and agglomeration in compressed light oil systems under carbon dioxide injection in a porous structure: A molecular dynamics study |
| title_full_unstemmed | Asphaltene transformation and agglomeration in compressed light oil systems under carbon dioxide injection in a porous structure: A molecular dynamics study |
| title_short | Asphaltene transformation and agglomeration in compressed light oil systems under carbon dioxide injection in a porous structure: A molecular dynamics study |
| title_sort | asphaltene transformation and agglomeration in compressed light oil systems under carbon dioxide injection in a porous structure a molecular dynamics study |
| topic | Asphaltene Agglomeration process Carbon dioxide Initial pressure Molecular dynamics simulation |
| url | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2214157X25010299 |
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