LAUSR

Asphaltenes, which are the most aromatic component of heavy oil, are responsible for the fouling and impairment in flow lines, wellbores, and other production facilities in the petroleum industry. Aromatic solvents such as xylenes are commonly used for the asphaltenes’ cleaning process. Understanding the mechanism of asphaltenes’ dissolution in aromatic solvents is significant for the development of a remediation strategy. The reduction of a reactor’s characteristic length scale leads to the decrease in experimental period while providing high-throughput information. Microfluidic systems with in situ spectroscopy is an excellent platform for time-effective studies of the molecular behavior of asphaltenes in simulated sandstone reservoirs. Here, we injected the HZSM-5 zeolite nanoparticles (707 nm aggregate–1 in isopropanol solution) with varying Al2O3/SiO2 ratios (from 0 to 1/26) into the quartz porous media to represent reservoirs with different characteristic acidity. In-line ultraviolet–visible light (...