Modeling Asphaltene Aggregation with a Single Compound

Aggregation of a model asphaltene compound hexa-tert-butylhexa-perihexabenzocoronene (HTBHBC) in toluene/heptane mixtures was monitored in real time using dynamic light scattering. The observed aggregation behavior was compared to that of real asphaltenes. It was found that heptane induces aggregation of HTBHBC and that the growth rate of the aggregates depends upon the toluene/heptane ratio, closely resembling the aggregation kinetics of real asphaltenes. For the conditions studied in this work, only diffusion-limited aggregation was observed. We thus confirm that a single well-defined compound can be successfully used for modeling the process of asphaltene aggregation.