Synergy effects of ions, resin, and asphaltene on interfacial tension of acidic crude oil and low-high salinity brines

It is well established that the heavy oil components including asphaltenes and resins play vital roles on the interfacial tension (IFT) of acidic crude oil (ACO) and aqueous solutions. Therefore, this experimental work is designed to investigate the possible synergism between salt ions, resin, and asphaltene on the IFT of ACO/low and high salinity brines containing MgCl2/NaCl and CaCl2. The results demonstrate that a complex ion of MgCl2 - resin component created in the solution could occupy the sites at the interface at high MgCl2 concentration. However, the results show that on the contrary, the molecular arrangement of MgCl2 and asphaltene at low and high MgCl2 concentration could be broken as the CaCl2 is able to hackle the molecular management due to the high affinity of Ca2+ to asphaltene molecules compared to that of Mg2+. Crown Copyright (C) 2015 Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.