About This Special Issue
Waxy crude oils represent a significant amount of the petroleum reserves and productions worldwide, and the pipeline transportation of waxy crude oils is an industrial practice that requires great attention. As the temperature of waxy crude oils drops below the wax appearance temperature (WAT), the dissolved waxes begin to precipitate to form solid wax crystals. Upon further cooling, more wax crystals appear and the precipitated wax crystals may interlock to form a network with the liquid oil entrapped within, resulting in the formation of waxy gels. The gelled waxy crude oil can be considered as an elastoviscoplastic material, showing complex non-Newtonian rheological features, such as viscoelasticity and yield stress, which poses great challenges to the oil production and pipeline transportation. To improve the cold flow properties of crude oils, multiple methods have been developed regarding conventional heating, blending low-viscosity crude oil, adding pour point depressants (PPDs).
The scope of this special issue mainly focused on the investigations of the rheological behaviors of waxy crude oils or their emulsions and the physical or chemical technologies to improve the cold flowability of crude oils. Topic such as showdown and start-up of pipelines, rheology of crude oils or their emulsions, the influence of asphaltenes and resins on oil flowability, new additives to improve the cold flowability of crude oils are also welcomed. The aim of this special issue is very clear: to shed light on better understanding of rheological behaviors of crude oils, studying the flow assurance problems for crude oil pipeline transportation, and discussing novel methods and their mechanisms to improve cold flowability of crude oil.
Aims and Scope:
- Rheology of Waxy Crude Oils
- Oil and Gas Pipeline Transportation Technology
- Pour Point Depressant to Improve the Cold Flowability of Crude Oils
- Influence of Asphaltenes and Resins on Gelation of Waxy Oils
- Start-up of Gelled Waxy Crude Oil Pipeline
- Transportation of High Water Cut Crude Oils
- Reliability Analysis of the Natural Gas Pipeline System