Understanding the molecular structure and chemical behaviour of asphaltenes

该项目将推动科学基础技术的发展，以经济有效地利用重油资源。沥青质的聚集和沉淀对重油的开采、运输、储存和精炼提出了巨大的挑战。随着轻质原油越来越稀缺，了解沥青质的物理化学性质对未来的石油工业至关重要。该项目计划开发和部署一种创新的分子探针技术，结合顺序热萃取和溶剂萃取以及先进的纳米级表征工具，揭示沥青质的分子结构和化学行为。通过对沥青质聚集和解离机理的认识，可为控制沥青质的沉淀，提高稠油的稳定性，从而提高稠油的利用率提供科学依据。

This project will advance the science underpinning technologies for cost-effective use of heavy oil resources. Asphaltene aggregation and precipitation pose enormous challenges for extraction, transport, storage and refining of heavy oils. Understanding the physicochemical properties of asphaltenes is crucial to the future oil industry as light crudes become scarce. This project plans to develop and deploy an innovative molecular probe technique, combined with sequential thermal and solvent extraction and advanced tools for nanoscale characterisation, to reveal the molecular structure and chemical behaviour of asphaltenes. The resulting understanding of the mechanisms of asphaltene aggregation and dissociation may provide a scientific basis for controlling asphaltene precipitation to improve the stability and thus improve the use of heavy oils.