Characterization of crude oils by inverse gas chromatography

It was shown that the flocculation onset of asphaltenes in crude oils could be predicted on the basis of the inverse gas chromatography characterization of the crude oil properties. Hildebrand’s solubility parameters of four crude oils were calculated from inverse chromatography data and compared with values obtained from the onset of asphaltene flocculation measurements. A good agreement was observed with three crude oils of different origin. A relation between Hildebrand’s solubility parameter and linear solvation energy relationship descriptors was established and it was demonstrated that the solubility parameter of a crude oil is determined mainly with dispersion interactions and the hydrogen bond basicity. A large basicity lowers the oil solubility parameter, and increases its stability in respect to flocculation.