School of Oil & Natural Gas Engineering, Southwest Petroleum University, Chengdu, China.
Oil and Gas Fire Protection Key Laboratory of Sichuan Province, Chengdu, China.
Ann N Y Acad Sci. 2024 Nov;1541(1):255-265. doi: 10.1111/nyas.15248. Epub 2024 Nov 2.
Wax deposition in constant-temperature transportation of waxy oil with high pour points poses a significant challenge for the oil industry. The demand for efficient methods to solve wax deposition has gained attention. To elucidate the impact of emulsion-based wax inhibitors on the performance of crude oils with varying wax content at low temperatures, experiments, rheological analyses, and microscopic analyses were conducted to study their pour point regulation, low-temperature flow improvement, wax prevention effectiveness, and wax crystallization behavior. The results indicate that emulsion-based wax inhibitors significantly reduce the pour point of crude oil, especially for high-wax-content oil, while for low-wax-content oil, the pour point only decreased by 3°C. By penetrating and dispersing wax crystals, the inhibitor reduced the viscosity of crude oil at low temperatures, enhancing its flowability. At 28°C, crude oil transitioned from a shear-thinning non-Newtonian fluid to a Newtonian fluid at wax inhibitor dosages of 500-750 ppm. At 1000 ppm, the wax prevention rate for high-wax-content oil reached 87.5%, but the effect plateaued beyond this concentration. Additionally, the wax prevention and removal mechanism of the emulsion-based wax inhibitors is discussed. This study confirms that emulsion-based wax inhibitors significantly enhance the low-temperature processability of crude oil, offering a viable strategy for the conveyance and refinement in cold climates.
高倾点含蜡原油的恒温输送中存在蜡沉积问题，这对石油行业构成了重大挑战。因此，人们迫切需要寻找有效的方法来解决蜡沉积问题。为了阐明基于乳液的蜡抑制剂对不同含蜡量原油在低温下的性能影响，我们进行了实验、流变分析和微观分析，以研究其降凝点、低温流动改善、防蜡效果和蜡结晶行为。结果表明，基于乳液的蜡抑制剂能显著降低原油的倾点，特别是对高含蜡原油，而对于低含蜡原油，倾点仅降低了 3°C。抑制剂通过渗透和分散蜡晶，降低了低温下原油的粘度，提高了其流动性。在 28°C 时，当抑制剂剂量为 500-750 ppm 时，原油从剪切稀化的非牛顿流体转变为牛顿流体。在 1000 ppm 时，高含蜡原油的防蜡率达到 87.5%，但超过该浓度后效果趋于稳定。此外，还讨论了基于乳液的蜡抑制剂的防蜡和除蜡机制。本研究证实，基于乳液的蜡抑制剂能显著提高原油的低温加工性能，为寒冷气候下的输送和精炼提供了可行的策略。
