Rheology of Doped Nigerian Niger-Delta Waxy Crude Oil

Abstract

Abstract Precipitation and deposition of wax, which usually results from temperature lowering, has detrimental effects on petroleum industry operations. To appreciate and understand the physicochemical mechanics of wax precipitation, rheological experiments were carried out on three doped and undoped Nigerian waxy crude oils. The characteristic shear stress straining rate shows an initial constant shear stress below 50 sec−1 shear rate, followed by a gradual increase above 50 sec−1 which is indicative of energy consumption in the partial break-up of wax matrix bonds. Doping greatly ameliorates the rheological properties and pour points of the crude oils. The Bingham plastic model excellently fit the experimental data, with a correlation coefficient ≥ 0.97721. Keywords: doping agentrheologywaxy crude oilyield stress