Investigation of structural characteristics of different asphaltene deposits after surface wetting at high presssure

The aim of this study is to investigate the role of asphaltene construction on wettability and topography alteration of a homogeneous surface due to precipitation process. The observed variation of the surface topography based on AFM image analysis could be considered as the consequence of different asphaltene sources. Another evidence to highlight the importance of asphaltene structure was given through wettability alteration. Therefore, the structure of different asphaltene sources was examined. The effect of asphaltene structure is more marked for asphaltene precipitation at higher pressure. Results show that asphaltene particles of high complexity and with larger poly-aromatic rings tend to be detached easier at higher pressure than those with smaller poly-aromatic rings.