Asphaltene particles can be dissolved in an organic molecular system, and they may form micelles in the presence of excess amounts of aromatic molecules. ... The results obtained are compared with the available critical micelle concentration data.

What is a micelle and how is it formed?

Micelles are formed by self-assembly of amphiphilic molecules. The structures contain hydrophilic/polar region (head) and hydrophobic/nonpolar region (tail) [1]. Micelles are formed in aqueous solution whereby the polar region faces the outside surface of the micelle and the nonpolar region forms the core.

How do asphaltenes form?

The clusters form from the combination of several nanoaggregates. Based on this model, as the asphaltene concentration in the oil increases, the oil will become heavier due to the high molecular weight of asphaltene and its API will decrease, which shows that asphaltene has an overall negative impact on the crude oil.