Apparatus and System for Measuring Asphaltene Content of Crude Oil

A microfluidic chip, comprising:

• an upper portion defining a sample inlet port, a solvent port, a waste port, a product port, a mixing channel, and a reactor channel, the mixing channel being in fluid communication with the sample inlet port, the solvent port, and the reactor channel;
• an intermediate portion defining a further channel in fluid communication with the reactor channel;
• and
• a membrane filter in fluid communication with the further channel, the membrane filter having an inlet side and an outlet side;
• wherein the waste port is in fluid communication with the inlet side of the membrane filter and the product port is in fluid communication with the outlet side of the membrane filter.

A system for measuring asphaltene content of crude oil, comprising:

• a microfluidic chip, the microfluidic chip comprising:
• a crude oil sample inlet port;
• a solvent port;
• a mixer and reactor section in fluid communication with the crude oil sample inlet port and the solvent port;
• a filter in fluid communication with the mixer and reactor section, the filter having an inlet side and an outlet side;
• a waste port in fluid communication with the inlet side of the filter, and;
• a product port in fluid communication with the outlet side of the filter;
• and
• an optical cell in fluid communication with the product port.