Effect of Clay Particle Size on the Adsorption of a Pentane Insoluble Bitumen Fraction

Abstract

Hydrophobic clay minerals create problems related to reservoir wettability and fouling during oil production and upgrading. In this work, the prime objective is to investigate the effect of clay particle size on the adsorption of a well-characterized pentane insoluble fraction (PI) from Athabasca oilsands bitumen by clay minerals. A commercial sample of illite is separated into three fractions with median diameters of 10.3, 1.61 and 0.21-μm. The maximum monolayer coverage of PI is calculated from adsorption isotherms determined for each substrate. Maximum monolayer adsorption (mg/g) of PI on illite increases with decreasing size of clay particles. The organic material remaining in the supernatant and adsorbed organic material are characterized by several complementary analytical techniques. Comparison of the compositions in each case shows that the adsorption process is selective for heavy polar molecules.