Any latest development in the world of asphaltene inhibitor and asphaltene in general?
Win Robbins
Advanced Characterization - petroleum at Carmagen Engineering
Ahmed,
Characterization of petroleum has certainly progressed from when you (and I) started with open columns and spectrophotometers. Advances in HPLC, diode arrays, and now high resolution MS (FT/ICR/MS) have allowed us to understand how little we understand about the complexity of petroleum. Petroleum originates from such a broad range of bio-matter, sedimentary conditions, and geo-thermal processes that contribute to this complexity. In the past decade, it has become apparent that many petroleum accumulations are alive with anaerobic and aerobic bio-organisms further complicating crude handling. Ancient bio-marker compounds are being supplemented with extensive genetic coding. Some of the bio-molecules may well be found within the material precipitating as asphaltenes. It's no longer sufficient to consider the origin of asphaltenes in terms of organic geochemistry; we now need to consider organic microbiological geochemistry! Some potential clues linking bioactivity to asphaltenes are now being found on the sea bed around "black smoker" seeps.
