Experimental study of the influence of solvent and asphaltenes on liquid–solid phase behavior of paraffinic model systems by using DSC and FT-IR techniques

This experimental work presents the results of a study about the liquid–solid phase behavior of high molecular weight n-paraffins (C24–C28 mixture and C36 pure) in aliphatic (n-decane and squalane) and aromatic (xylene and 1-phenyl dodecane) solvents. The effect of asphaltenes of different chemical nature over the liquid–solid behavior of heavy n-paraffins is also studied. Differential Scanning Calorimetry (DSC) was used to obtain the phase transitions onsets and enthalpies as well as the wax solubility curves. Crystallinity was studied by using both DSC and Infrared Spectroscopy (FT-IR) techniques. The results obtained and presented in this study showed that both, solvent and asphaltenes as well as their chemical nature have a significant effect on paraffin crystallization process.