Globules, crystals or something in between?
Solids precipitating out of solution tend to be crystalline, but I'm nowhere near a petroleum chemist and would like to hear from one.
These would normally be the heavier fractions.
Would there be some stratification of the fractions during the flight?
Warming on descent may make the precipitate inclined to stick to fellow particles, somewhat like snow in a cloud.
What is the relative density of the initial precipitate? If lower a froth/slush would form on top, but would there be some 10 tonnes of it at the end of a flight?
If higher, the precipitate as before noted would meet with its fellows at the sumps and intakes. A certain volume of the sumps are generally below the intake to capture contaminants. Once that volume is filled, the stuff goes down the intake.
Too bad the tanks gave way. I suspect the AAIB has collected what samples it could.
The big problem with all of this is that a whole bunch of a/c fueled and flew from Beijing that day and landed without incident. What makes BA038 different?