Analyzing Acidity in Crude Oil

Abstract

This current study purposes to serve as an investigation and analysis of acidic and basic components of crude oil in a bid to present a better overall understanding on their consequent impact on various physiochemical properties including; interfacial tension (IFT) and viscosity, some of the vitally significant factors in oil reservoir interactions.

Methods

The methodology applied within this particular research entails the testing and evaluation of two surface-active components; stearic acid and quinoline (acidic and basic components respectively). Additionally, the study uses various techniques to examine one polymer (polyacrylamide) and a biopolymer (xanthan gum).

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Results

The results indicate that there is a correspondence between the decrease in IFT as a function of acidic and basic components under effectiveness of polymer and biopolymer. To this end, the acidic n-decane/polymer system has been found to be more active on the reduction of IFT as compared to the basic systems. Additionally, the effect of seawater was studied, but nonetheless, it doesn’t exhibit any significant IFT impact. Further, an analysis of temperatures of 80±5oc was conducted which indicated that there is an increase in IFT for all systems. However, the IFT significantly decreased in the presence of biopolymer after some period of time at high temperatures.

Conclusion

With respect to the rheological properties, the viscosity decreased with the subsequent increase in the shear rates, indicating that a polymer or a biopolymer solution is a non-Newtonian fluid. Surface-active components do not affect the viscosity of the solutions in the ambient temperature, except for additional seawater which results in a slight decrease the viscosity. On the other hand, the application of higher temperatures significantly decreases the viscosity. As such, the highest reduction of viscosity was observed when surface-active components were used over time.