Sulfonation of Polystyrene and Its Evaluation on the Asphaltenes Stabilization(Abstract)

摘要

Due to the several problems provoked by asphaltenes deposition during the oil production, it is very important to understand the stabilization process of the asphaltenes dispersions induced by additives. In this work, commercial polystyrene (PSty) was chemically modified, producing molecules presenting different sulfonate groups content. The influence of the so synthesized additives on the asphaltenes stabilization was evaluated. The sulfonation reaction of the PSty was carried out by adding acetylsulfonate to the polystyrene/dichloromethane, at 40°C. The products were characterized by 1H nuclear magnetic resonance, in a Varian Mercury 300. The asphaltenes stabilization tests were done in a ultraviolet Varian Cary 50. Each system was constituted of asphaltenes dispersed in toluene, in which polymer dissolved in acetone was added. We used an acetone volume equal to the miminum amout that was enough to dissolved the polymer in all used concentrations (0.1 to 0.5 wt%). The asphaltenes concentration was 0.25 wt% based on the total solvent volume (toluene + acetone).