Abstract
Polystyrene is used in a wide range of applications in our lives, from machine housings to plastic cups and miniature electronic devices. When polystyrene is used, a large amount of waste is produced, which can cause pollution to the environment and even harm biological and human health. Due to its low bulk density (especially the foamed type) and low residual value, polystyrene cannot be easily recycled. Often waste polystyrene is difficult to recycle. In this paper, waste polystyrene has been modified by using acetic anhydride which caused a crude oil flow improver. The results showed that modified polystyrene improves the flow properties of the crude oil, reducing the viscosity and the pour point of the crude oil by up to 84.6% and 8.8 °C, respectively. Based on the study of the paraffin crystal morphology, the mechanism of improving the flow capacity of crude oil by modified polystyrene was proposed and analyzed.
Highlights
Five crude oil flow improvers obtained by dissolving modified polystyrene in diesel oil at different volumes were subjected to the various concentrations to compare the effect of viscosity reduction
1:10maximum and the viscosity reduction was achieved at 30 ◦ C with 84.6% viscosity reduction in Henan oil
The addition of crude oil flow improvers resulted in a significant reduction in the pour point of the oil samples
Summary
Publisher’s Note: MDPI stays neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations. Waste from polystyrene is highly stable and does not readily degrade naturally. For this reason, the use of conventional methods, e.g., landfilling and incineration, to dispose of polystyrene foam waste will cause environmental pollution but waste resources, too. The recycling of waste polystyrene can solve the problem of environmental pollution causing by its combustion, and achieve the effect of energy saving and emission reduction. In order to improve the fluidity of crude oil with high wax content, many solutions have been developed. In general, these methods have problems x.
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