Rheological Study of Waxy Oil-In-Water Dispersions
Abstract/Contents
- Abstract
- High-pour-point crude oil, or waxy crude oil, is very difficult to handle because of wax precipitation and a subsequent gelling phenomenon. Effective anti-economical treatment of wax is indispensable for successful transportation of waxy crude oil. Various measures to manage wax problems have been developed. Dispersing waxy oil in water to reduce its apparent viscosity is one attractive alternative. Although its effectiveness has long been recognized, this method has been inadequately investigated. The research reported here examined rheological characteristics of waxy oil-in-water dispersions and their preparation method.Waxy oil-in-water dispersions were formed from synthetic waxy oil, a mixture of white oil andparaffin wax. One problem associated with viscosity measurement of gelling materials such as waxy oil is "flow slippage". A Brookfield viscometer on a Helipath stand was found to solve this problem. With this equipment, changes in apparent viscosity of various dispersions with changes in temperature were measured. Attention was focused on the effects of water content and surfactant concentration. The major findings of this study are:1) Apparent viscosity increases rapidly as temperature falls. The increase is due to (a) the precipitation of wax particles and (b) the subsequent gelling of the fluid caused by the agglomeration of wax particles.2) Successful preparation of dispersions can prevent gelling of the systems. 50 vol.% of water and 1 wt.% of surfactant were required to disperse the precipitated wax particles in the water and maintain fluidity during a temperature drop. Control of' the mixing temperature during preparation is also important in forming successful waxy oil-in-water dispersions.3) The precipitation of wax particles makes successful dispersions highly non-Newtonian.The non-Newtonian characteristics of a typical dispersion were measured with a Fann VG meter. An estimate of the pressure drop in a pipeline carrying waxy oil-in-water dispersions is also included in this report.
Description
| Type of resource | text |
|---|---|
| Date created | December 1986 |
Creators/Contributors
| Author | Tanaka, Katsuya |
|---|---|
| Primary advisor | Marsden Jr, Sullivan S. |
| Degree granting institution | Stanford University, Department of Petroleum Engineering |
Subjects
| Subject | School of Earth Energy & Environmental Sciences |
|---|---|
| Genre | Thesis |
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Preferred citation
- Preferred Citation
- Tanaka, Katsuya. (1986). Rheological Study of Waxy Oil-In-Water Dispersions. Stanford Digital Repository. Available at: https://purl.stanford.edu/yn968vr7513
Collection
Master's Theses, Doerr School of Sustainability
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- brannerlibrary@stanford.edu
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