COMPLEX PERMITTIVITY OF CRUDE OILS AND SOLUTIONS OF HEAVY CRUDE-OIL FRACTIONS

Dielectric spectroscopy is considered as an interesting method for det ermination quality parameters like density, viscosity and interfacial properties of petroleum fluids. In this paper are the mechanisms impor tant for the dielectric properties of crude oils studied for developme nt of new charaterising methods.Asphaltenes and resins were mixed to f orm a total interfacially active fraction (TIAF). The complex permitti vity of solutions of the asphaltene, resin and TIAF fractions were mea sured for various concentrations and solvents to study the dielectric properties of these fractions. Quantitative formula for predicting the asphaltene content in the crude oil from measured conductivities and permittivities were proposed. The predictability of the models for the asphaltene content in five different crude oils varied relatively muc h. The static permittivity of solutions of the fractions showed that t he asphaltenes are suspended particles, whereas the other fractions ar e molecular solutions. The operational definitions of the crude oil fr actions result in different properties depending on the extraction pro cedure and the properties the crude oil they are extracted from.