Viscosity Reduction Of Heavy Oil Research Articles

Review on new heavy oil viscosity reduction technologies

Lots of gum and asphaltene in heavy oil caused high viscosity, high density and poor fluidity, which makes it very difficult to exploit and transport heavy oil. This paper introduces the mechanism and application of five new viscosity reduction technologies, including microbial viscosity reduction technology, biosurfactant viscosity reduction technology, ultrasonic viscosity reduction technology, magnetic treatment viscosity reduction technology and supercritical carbon dioxide viscosity reduction technology. At present, single viscosity reduction technology is difficult to solve the problem of heavy oil production and transportation. So the development direction of heavy oil viscosity reduction technology is the composite use of various technologies. In the future, it is necessary to develop new viscosity reduction technologies suitable for heavy oil production and transportation from the perspective of studying the structure and performance of heavy oil.

Investigating the Viscosity Reduction of Heavy Crude Oil Using Organic Materials to Improve Oil Production and Transportation

Crude oil is an unprocessed petroleum product. This substance is hydrocarbon deposits and organic materials. It’s utilized in several ways. It is utilized in industries, transfers, and dynamic. Heavy crude oil and bitumen are difficult to extract and treat from their resources due to their increased viscosity, limited mobility, and high carbon-to-hydrogen atomic ratios. So organic ingredients would be required to minimize crude oil viscosity. The viscosity of crude oil is a major issue for oil producers and transporters. The usefulness of waste biomaterials as viscosity reduction agents was investigated on heavy crude oils from Oman. This research collected natural materials to examine how they influenced the oil’s viscosity. Date nutshell and kernel are chosen organic materials. Using waste biomaterials instead of chemical additive is more eco- friendly. This project investigated three variables (size of particles, amount of materials powder and temperature). The higher the organic matter particle size, the greater the influence on lowering crude oil viscosity. Moreover, the lowering mass of powder has higher influence on lowering the viscosity of heavy crude oil. Also, when the temperature rises, the viscosity of heavy crude oil decreases.

Recyclable surface-functionalized Fe3O4 particles for heavy oil viscosity reduction

The main objective of this study is to design and apply surface-functionalized Fe3O4 particles to reduce the viscosity of heavy oil from Shengli Oilfield and to study the mechanism of viscosity reduction. Fe3O4 particles were synthesized by the co-precipitation method and modified with 3-propyl trimethoxysilane (KH570), oleic acid (OA), and triethoxyvinylsilane (A151) to obtain Fe3O4–KH570, Fe3O4-OA, and Fe3O4-A151, respectively. The particles were characterized through Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR), Thermogravimetric Analysis (TGA), and Dynamic Light Scattering (DLS). The contact angle and dispersion stability in kerosene were evaluated. The average net degree of viscosity reduction (%DVR) of Fe3O4–KH570, Fe3O4-OA, and Fe3O4-A151 on Chenping heavy oil at 50 °C is 27.91%, 51.27%, and 29.44%, respectively. The surface functionalization of asphaltene aggregates, the improvement of lipophilicity, and dispersion stability after destruction are the main reasons for the decrease of heavy oil viscosity. Particle size and the ability to adsorb asphaltenes have no direct relationship with DVR. It was also confirmed that the modified Fe3O4 particles can effectively recycle from the oil under a magnetic field. This work developed a kind of recyclable Fe3O4 particles for heavy oil viscosity reduction, which was beneficial to lower the cost in heavy oil recovery.

Experimental study on viscosity reduction of heavy oil with water content by synergistic effect of microwave and nano-catalyst

With the depleting of conventional oil and gas resources, viscosity reduction of heavy oil became more and more important as a research focus. As a new method of viscosity reduction, the mechanism of microwave-assisted with nano-catalysts is still unclear. In this paper, the viscosity reduction of nano-catalyst and microwave treatment of heavy oil in different water content was studied. The experimental results showed that the maximum viscosity reduction was 96.81 % when the water content was 50 wt% under the conditions of microwave heating power of 614w, microwave heating temperature of 68 °C and nickel nano-catalyst concentration of 0.8 wt%. The oil samples before and after three treatments were analyzed by infrared spectroscopy, element analysis, four-component separation, and two-dimensional gas chromatography-mass spectrometry. By analyzing the changes of functional group, element composition, and component content, the effects of microwave and nano-catalyst were studied. The results showed that the resin and asphaltene content decreased by 17.3 wt%, and the hydrogen to carbon ratio was 2.14 when the water content was 30 wt% under the conditions of microwave heating power of 666w, microwave heating temperature of 65 °C and nickel nano-catalyst concentration of 2.3 wt%, which proved that microwave treatment assisted with nano-catalysts could increase the cracking capacity of macromolecules and the production of coke.

A review on the role of hydrogen donors in upgrading heavy oil and bitumen

The significant aspects in the downhole catalytic cracking upgrading and viscosity reduction of heavy oil are to develop industrial hydrogen donors with a strong hydrogen supply effect, abundant sources, reasonable price, and environmentally friendly nature.

Cis-9-Octadecenylamine Modified Ferric Oxide and Ferric Hydroxide for Catalytic Viscosity Reduction of Heavy Crude Oil

Cis-9-Octadecenylamine Modified Ferric Oxide and Ferric Hydroxide for Catalytic Viscosity Reduction of Heavy Crude Oil

Rhamnolipids produced under aerobic/anaerobic conditions: Comparative analysis and their promising applications

This research comprises a comparative study of the properties, rhl genes expression, and structural difference in rhamnolipids produced under different oxygen conditions via Pseudomonas sp. CH1. The critical micelle concentration (CMC) of rhamnolipids produced under aerobic conditions (RAO) was 100 mg/L. In contrast, rhamnolipids produced under anaerobic conditions (RNO) had a low CMC of 40 mg/L. RNO comprised six rhamnolipids homologs, and the proportion of mono-rhamnolipids was up to 87.83%; meanwhile, the percent ratio of di-rhamnolipids and mono-rhamnolipids in RAO was 63.1:36.9. Additionally, diversified applications for solubilization of hydrophobic pollutants and reduction in heavy oil viscosity were investigated. The addition of RNO greatly enhanced the solubility of phenanthrene in water, from 1.29 mg/L to 193.14 mg/L, a 148.7-fold increase. Moreover, the viscosity of heavy oil decreased by over 90% for both kinds of rhamnolipids, whereas RAO effectively reduced the viscosity even at a low temperature (10 °C). The findings of this study provide insights into the versatile potential applications of rhamnolipids produced under different oxygen conditions.

The mechanism of ultrasonic irradiation effect on viscosity variations of heavy crude oil

Viscosity reduction of heavy oil has economic benefits and applicational value in the field. Applying viscosity reduction technology of heavy oil with ultrasound, this paper examines the influence of ultrasonic irradiation time and the addition of tetralin and ethylene glycol on viscosity reduction of heavy oil. Fourier Transform Infrared Spectrometer (FTIR) and Gas Chromatograph (GC) were used to analyze the chemical compositions and structural changes of oil samples before and after ultrasonic irradiation, and the effects of ultrasound on viscosity changes are presented. The viscosity reduction rate (VRR) was best at an irradiation time of 6 mins under the current experimental conditions, with VRR reaching more than 80%. When the irradiation time reached 12 mins, the viscosity of oil samples increased conversely. Chemical analysis reveals that the light components in the oil samples increased after the ultrasonic irradiation, indicating that the cavitation, thermal, and mechanical effects of ultrasound could play a role in breaking long chains of carbon, thus reducing the viscosity. The increase in viscosity may have been caused by a reassociation between molecules and/or the coking of heavy oil.

Insights into the mechanism during viscosity reduction process of heavy oil through molecule simulation

Faced with the problem of high viscosity of heavy oil, revealing interaction mechanism of viscosity reduction from molecular level is of significance for scientifically designing viscosity reducers. Therefore, molecular dynamics (MD) and quantum mechanics (QM) simulations were combined to conduct a profound research on viscosity reduction mechanism of heavy oil. Three kinds of viscosity reducers (VRs) used in experiment were modeled and inserted into the heavy oil box systems constructed for simulation. By comparing average cluster sizes of asphaltenes in each system, and interactions between the characteristic atoms in the VRs’ branches and asphaltenes, the difference in the effects of different viscosity reducers were fully understood. After analyzing the π-π stacking forms among asphaltenes-asphaltenes, asphaltenes-resins, and resins-resins in different simulation systems, a potential viscosity reduction mechanism was proposed. The strong face-face stacking between asphaltenes and asphaltenes in heavy oil is converted into a relatively weaker face-face stacking of asphaltene-resin, with weak interaction type and strength among heavy oil molecules further explored. Finally, a criterion for screening solvents was put forward after investigating the property of different solvents, toluene and kerosene. Molecule simulation was carried out to reveal the mechanism for viscosity reduction of heavy oil under molecular level, which made a contribution to the exploration of heavy oil.

Synthesis and Molecular Dynamics Simulation of Amphiphilic Low Molecular Weight Polymer Viscosity Reducer for Heavy Oil Cold Recovery

In order to reduce the viscosity of heavy oil, the performance of emulsifying viscosity reducers is limited. In this study, a new kind of amphiphilic low molecular weight viscosity reducer was prepared by emulsion copolymerization of acrylamide (AM), acrylic acid (AA), 2-acrylamido-2-methylpropanesulfonic acid (AMPS), and Butene benzene (PB). The synthesis feasibility and viscosity reduction mechanism of viscosity reducer in heavy oil were explored using Materials Studio software from the perspective of molecular dynamics. The results of the molecular dynamics simulation revealed that the addition of viscosity reducer into heavy oil varied the potential energy, non-potential energy, density and hydrogen bond distribution of heavy oil. Benefiting from its structure, the benzene ring in PB was well embedded in the interlayer structure of asphaltene, contributing to weaken the network structure of the heavy oil. Moreover, the two strong polar groups (COO− and SO3−) of AA and AMPS, which constituted the branched chains of the viscosity reducer’s molecular structure, gradually disassembled the network structure from the ‘inward’ to the ‘outward’ of the heavy oil network structure, thereby driving heavy oil viscosity reduction (as clarified by molecular dynamics). Owing to its temperature resistance, this kind of new amphiphilic low molecular copolymer could be an effective viscosity reducer for heavy oil cold recovery at elevated temperatures.

Synthesis and properties of the active polymer for enhanced heavy oil recovery

With the continued recovery of heavy oil, conventional polymer flooding cannot be applied to heavy oil reservoirs gradually due to the characteristics of heavy oil reservoirs. To study oil displacement agent suitable for enhanced heavy oil recovery and investigate the effect of EO chain length on the performances, acrylamide, acrylic acid, lauryl methacrylate and C 10 -C 16 alkylphenol ethoxylates were selected to co-polymerize into the active polymer PAAP-x with different EO chain length (14, 16, 18, 20 and 22). Proton nuclear magnetic resonance analysis indicated PAAP-x as the target product. The optimal EO chain length of PAAP-x was determined to be 18 by the analysis of thickening, salt-tolerance, interfacial activity, wettability, viscosity reduction and recovery. Compared with conventional polymer P1, 1500 mg/L PAAP-18 exhibited superior performances with salinity of 6882.2 mg/L: (1) PAAP-18 could maintain the viscosity of 113.1 mPa . s, while P1was 44.8 mPa . s. (2) PAAP-18 could reduce the water-oil IFT from 44.4 mN/m to 13.0 mN/m, while P1 was to 30.6 mN/m, and the water-oil contact angle was 58.2°and 108.5°, respectively. (3) The heavy oil viscosity reduction rate of PAAP-18 was 81.7% at 50 °C, while P1 was only 33.8%. (4) PAAP-18 enhanced heavy oil recovery by 19.85% on the basis of water flooding while conventional polymer was only 8.69%. This study has theoretical guidance and practical significance for the study on new oil displacement agent to enhance heavy oil recovery. • Active polymer PAAP with optimal EO chain length of 18 were successfully synthesized. • PAAP-18 was better than conventional polymer in performances. • PAAP-18 could enhance heavy oil recovery by 19.85% on the basis of water flooding. • PAAP-18 simultaneously improve the oil displacement efficiency and the sweep efficiency.

Construction and Performance Evaluation of High Efficiency Heavy Oil Degradation and Viscosity Reduction Consortium

Construction and Performance Evaluation of High Efficiency Heavy Oil Degradation and Viscosity Reduction Consortium

Quartz sand proppant loaded with Ni and Mo for in-situ aquathermolysis of heavy oil

The aquathermolysis is an emerging technology that can realize the in-situ upgrade and viscosity reduction of heavy oil in the reservoir conditions. In this study, a heterogeneous catalyst: Ni-Mo/SiO2 was prepared by the impregnation-calcination method and quartz sand proppant (SiO2: 20–40 mesh) was used as the carrier. Through the catalytic aquathermolysis of Liaohe heavy oil, the catalytic performance of the catalyst was explored. Under the set conditions (240 °C, 24 h, 50% water content), 16.21% of the heavy components (6.92% resins and 9.29% asphaltenes) can be converted to light components. The large-particle quartz sand proppant as the carrier can realize the separation of Ni-Mo from the oil–water mixture, effectively avoiding the loss. After 5 cycles, Ni-Mo/SiO2 can still maintain a viscosity reduction rate of more than 72%. The viscosity of Liaohe heavy oil decreased from 145 Pa·s to 23.26 Pa·s in the simulated in-situ upgrading experiment, which indicated the feasibility of Ni-Mo/SiO2 to in-situ modification of heavy oil.

Synthesis of sawdust carbon supported nickel nanoparticles and its application in upgrading heavy crude oil

Nickel nanoparticles was supported on sawdust carbon via a hydrothermal method followed by calcination and used as a catalyst for heavy crude oil upgrading experiment. The performance of catalyst on catalytic pyrolysis of heavy crude oil was studied by laboratory experiments. The experimental results showed that under the reaction conditions of 350 °C, 30 min and 0.1 wt% catalyst, the viscosity reduction ratio of heavy crude oil was 74.50%, the viscosity can be reduced from 16,000 mPa·s (50 °C) to 4080 mPa·s, and the net efficiency of catalyst was 14.37%. Analysis results suggested that the viscosity reduction of heavy crude oil was caused by the destruction of structure of resin in the process of the catalytic pyrolysis reaction.

Green production of silica hydroxyl riched palygorskite by shear-assisted supercritical CO2 separation process for dye adsorption and heavy oil viscosity reduction

A green shear-assisted rapid depressurization process was developed to produce highly-dispersed palygorskite (Pal) nanorods with abundant silica hydroxyl (Si-OH) groups by using supercritical CO2 (ScCO2) treatment. The disentangled Pal (DPal) nanorods prepared by ScCO2 were obtained with small particle sizes and high dispersity, and confirmed by electron microscopy and particle size analysis. Higher zeta potential and smaller contact angle were achieved for DPal due to the efficient exposure of Si-OH groups, consistent with the better rheological property as well as the higher adsorption of methylene blue (88%) and rhodamine B (86%). The nano viscosity reducer synthesized by DPal achieved a high viscosity reduction rate of 95% with Liaohe heavy oil, attributed to the higher degree of modification due to the increased Si-OH groups and the stronger aggregation effect on wax crystal caused by the nano viscosity reducer. The disentangled and modified Pal demonstrated great potential in dye adsorption and heavy oil viscosity reduction applications.

Investigation of amplification process of heavy oil viscosity reduction device based on jet cavitation using lab experimental and numerical simulation method

ABSTRACT With the increasing requirement of global energy resources, researchers seek for new ways to deal with unconventional crude oil resources. Using the Computational Fluid Dynamics numerical simulation method, the standard k-ɛ turbulence model and the cavitation dynamics model are used to simulate the internal flow field of the 105t/a heavy oil viscosity reduction spray nozzle device which is designed by the jet cavitation theory. The jet cavitation intensity is evaluated by cavitation number and gas content. The influence of spray nozzle structural parameters such as inlet diameter, contraction length, expansion cone angle and expansion length on the cavitation effect of the spray nozzle are studied. The results show that the cavitation effect is the best when the inlet diameter, contraction section length, expansion section cone angle, and expansion section length of the large capacity device are 120 mm, 110 mm, 10°, and 150 mm, respectively. A laboratory test device with a processing capacity of 2000 t/a is built to conduct jet cavitation test on a batch of Saudi crude oil to obtain the change rate of crude oil viscosity, density and molecular weight. The numerical results are consistent with the outcome of laboratory experiments, and it is concluded that this spray nozzle can meet the needs of large processing capacity while ensuring a high cavitation rate.

Viscosity reduction of offshore heavy oil by application of a synthesized emulsifier and its microscopic mechanism during thermal recovery

This paper reports the synthesis of AEC-9Na and its effects as an emulsifier on viscosity reduction of heavy oils. Williamson reaction was employed to obtain the emulsifier and its thermal stability was evaluated. The results showed that AEC-9Na can withstand a temperature of 300 °C, the viscosity reduction rate can reach greater than 99%, and it has high stability to calcium and magnesium salts. The interfacial tension of AEC-9Na on heavy oil reached 10−1 level. Compared with the steam flooding, the flooding efficiency with the addition of 1.0% AEC-9Na was increased by 4.8%. The samples were examined microscopically and self-emulsification occurred.

Heavy oil viscosity reduction at mild temperatures using palladium acetylacetonate

Metal-ligand compounds (“MLCs”) have been shown to reduce heavy oil viscosity and upgrade oil quality. However, MLCs generally require high treatment temperatures (around 250 °C), which is undesirably energy-intensive. We identified palladium(II) acetylacetonate (“PdA”) as a model MLC that can operate at mild temperatures (<200 °C). We studied its effectiveness on heavy oil viscosity reduction in the range of 80–300 °C using viscometry, SARA analysis, GC–MS, XPS, and XRD to characterize Peace River oil samples thermally treated with and without PdA. This MLC effectively lowered oil viscosity at all treatment temperatures, whereas thermal-only treatments did not reduce viscosity below 160 °C. The thermal treatment with PdA in the 130–250 °C range reduced viscosity by up to ~35% more than the thermal treatment alone. GC–MS and TGA results indicated the PdA partially decomposed at 80 °C and higher temperatures, releasing acetylacetone (“HA”), which lowered oil viscosity. The temperature and HA effects did not completely account for the observed viscosity reduction from thermal treatment with PdA, indicating there were other significant effects. In the 80–130 °C range, the asphaltene fraction increased due to PdA or its decomposition products intercalating into the asphaltene clusters. At temperatures around 250 °C, the resin fraction decreased, correlating to in situ formed metallic Pd that catalytically hydrogenate the resin sulfonyl groups to aliphatic sulfur. This new understanding of the temperature-dependent impact – acetylacetonate ligand, MLC-asphaltene attraction, and palladium metal catalyst formation – on oil viscosity changes provides an improved approach to developing new MLCs for field-relevant conditions.

Synthesis and properties of functional polymer for heavy oil viscosity reduction

To address chromatographic separation issues encountered with surfactant-polymer composite systems, a functional polymer (PAA-NA) was synthesized from acrylamide, 2-acrylamido-2-methylpropane sulfonic acid and two functional monomers, namely C14-C22 fatty alcohol polyoxyethylene ether acrylate (AEO15AA) and N-dodecylprop-2-enamide (C12AM), to realize heavy oil emulsification and viscosity reduction under reservoir conditions. Proton nuclear magnetic resonance analysis (1HNMR) verified the synthesis of PAANA. Relevant properties, including thickening performance, salt-tolerance, interfacial activity, and interfacial elasticity as well as heavy oil viscosity reduction capabilities of PAANA, PAA-N comprising C12AM, and PAA-A comprising AEO15AA were studied systematically. PAA-NA exhibited a superior viscosity reduction performance compared to that of PAA-A and PAA-N owing to the synergistic effect of the two functional monomers: (1) the higher the degree of hydrophobic association, the stronger the spatial network structure, resulting in improved thickening performance, interfacial elasticity, and shear resistance. Meanwhile, a tighter interfacial adsorption layer was formed at the oil-water interface, reducing interfacial tension. (2) heavy oil viscosity reduction rates by PAA-NA (87.0%–90.6%) were higher than those achieved with PAA-A (55.7%–76.0%), while PAA-N was unable to reduce the viscosity. The oil-water ratio range that favors the formation of O/W emulsions was wider for PAA-NA (less than 7:3) than for PAA-A (less than 4:6). The synthesis of functional polymer PAA-NA as a viscosity reducer bears theoretical significance for the enhancement of heavy oil recovery

The influence of compound heating power distribution on heat transfer

With the continuous deepening of oil and gas resource development, the number of large cargo tankers is increasing rapidly, and the tankers need to heat and keep the cargo oil in the tanks during navigation. However, the traditional steam coil heating method has many problems, such as low thermal efficiency and large total fuel consumption, which will cause energy waste and increasing oil tanker transportation costs. Microwave heating technology has the characteristics of fast, uniform and efficient heating, and is widely used in petroleum extraction and viscosity reduction of heavy oil. This paper proposes a new heating method of steam-microwave composite heating to heat the cargo in the tanker cabin. Taking a VLCC side cabin as a prototype, a three-dimensional numerical scale model is established through COMSOL software to study the influence of thermal efficiency under different power distribution between steam and microwave. The research results show that when the total power is constant, the smaller the proportion of microwave power, the more beneficial it is to improve the heat transfer efficiency in oil heating. This research has important guiding significance for improving oil heating efficiency and saving energy consumption.