Hindered Diffusion of Asphaltenes at Elevated Temperature and Pressure Progress Report (open access)

Hindered Diffusion of Asphaltenes at Elevated Temperature and Pressure Progress Report

During this time period, experiments were performed to study the diffusion controlled uptake of quinoline and a coal asphaltene into porous carbon catalyst pellets. Cyclohexane and toluene were used as solvents for quinoline and the coal asphaltene respectively. The experiments were performed at 27 C and 75 C, at a pressure of 250 psi (inert gas) for the quinoline/cyclohexane system. For the coal asphaltene/toluene system, experiments were performed at 27 C, also at a pressure of 250 psi. These experiments were performed in a 20 cm{sup 3} microautoclave, the use of which is advantageous since it is economical from both a chemical procurement and waste disposal standpoint due to the small quantities of solvents and catalysts used. A C++ program was written to simulate data using a mathematical model which incorporated both diffusional and adsorption mechanisms. The simulation results showed that the mathematical model satisfactorily fitted the adsorptive diffusion of quinoline and the coal asphaltene onto a porous activated carbon. For the quinoline/cyclohexane system, the adsorption constant decreased with an increase in temperature. The adsorption constant for the coal asphaltene/toluene system at 27 C was found to be much higher than that of the quinoline/cyclohexane system at the same temperature. …
Date: October 7, 1999
Creator: Guin, James A. & Ramakrishnan, Ganesh
System: The UNT Digital Library