Polymeric Dispersants Delay Sedimentation in Colloidal Asphaltene Suspensions

Asphaltenes, among the heaviest components of crude oil, can become unstable under a variety of conditions and precipitate and sediment out of solution. In this report, we present sedimentation measurements for a system of colloidal scale asphaltene particles suspended in heptane. Adding dispersants to the suspension can improve the stability of the system and can mediate the transition from a power-law collapse in the sedimentation front to a rising front. Additional dispersant beyond a crossover concentration can cause a significant delay in the dynamics. Dynamic light scattering measurements suggest that the stabilization provided by the dispersants may occur through a reduction of both the size and polydispersity of the asphaltene particles in suspension.