Heavy crude oil viscosity reduction for pipeline transportation

Basma M. Yaghi*, Ali Al-Bemani

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to specialist publicationArticle

122 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

The approaches used for reducing the viscosity of a heavy crude include heating, blending with a light crude and with kerosene, and forming oil-in-water emulsions. Heating had a dramatic effect on the heavy crude viscosity, but it failed to achieve a practical level; consequently, blending the heavy crude with either light crude or kerosene was attempted and further reduction was achieved, but substantial amounts of these expensive diluents are required. Alternatively, emulsion formation was carried out, and it was established that a practical level of reduction is achievable at 70-75% oil content, in the high shear rate range, and at 30-50°C. The effect of temperature on the viscosity of the crude oil mixtures and emulsions can be fitted on the American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM) double-log model with an average deviation of 7.2-9.4%.

Original languageEnglish
Pages93-102
Number of pages10
Volume24
No.2
Specialist publicationEnergy Sources
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - Feb 2002
Externally publishedYes

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • General Chemical Engineering
  • Fuel Technology
  • Energy Engineering and Power Technology

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'Heavy crude oil viscosity reduction for pipeline transportation'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this