Adsorption of Algerian Asphaltenes onto Synthesized Maghemite Iron Oxide Nanoparticles

Abstract

Abstract: In this study, the adsorption of Algerian asphaltene sample extracted fromHassi Messaoud oil field is conducted for the first time. The adsorption processwas performed using novel synthesized iron oxide nanoparticles(γ-Fe2O3).γ-Fe2O3 Nanoparticles werein-house synthesized and characterized by an array of techniques using,Brunauer-Emmett-Teller (BET), high-resolution transmission electron microscopy(HRTEM) and X-ray diffraction (XRD). The results showed that the synthesizednanoparticles have an average crystalline domain size around 10 nm and aspecific surface area of 120 m2/g. The adsorptionprocess of the Algerian asphaltenes took place in a batch mode by dissolving theasphaltenes in toluene at 25°C. Different initial concentrations of asphaltenesolutions were used in this study, namely 100, 500, and 1000 ppm. During thisadsorption, both isotherm and kinetic studies were investigated. The resultsshowed that the synthesized iron oxide nanoparticles are promisingnano-adsorbents that have a high affinity to remove the asphaltenes and theequilibrium was recorded after 15 min. The Solid-Liquid-Equilibrium (SLE) modelwas used to correlate the adsorption experimental data.