Acta Phys. -Chim. Sin. ›› 2017, Vol. 33 ›› Issue (8): 1665-1671.doi: 10.3866/PKU.WHXB201704211

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Viscosity Reduction of Heavy Oils of Different Viscosities Based on General Cationic/Anionic Surfactant Systems

Mao-Zhang TIAN1,Fan ZHANG1,Cheng MA2,De-Sheng MA1,Ling-Xiang JIANG2,Rong-Rong XUE2,Ka-Er-Dun LIU2,Jian-Bin HUANG2,*()   

  1. 1 Petro China Research Institute of Petroleum Exploration and Development (State Key Laboratory of Enhanced Oil Recovery), Beijing 100083, P. R. China
    2 State Key Laboratory for Structural Chemistry of Unstable and Stable Species, College of Chemistry and Molecular Engineering, Peking University, Beijing 100871, P. R. China
  • Received:2017-02-26 Published:2017-06-14
  • Contact: Jian-Bin HUANG E-mail:JBHuang@pku.edu.cn

Abstract:

Herein, viscosity reduction is achieved for four different kinds of heavy oil based on the "generalized" cationic/anionic surfactants dodecanoic acid and dodecylamine. Two methods are employed in this work to reduce the oil viscosity of the oil. The first involves emulsifying the common heavy oil with an aqueous solution of "generalized" cationic/anionic surfactants, which can lead to an oil-in-water emulsion. The other requires dispersing the heavy oil in a mineral oil solution of "generalized" cationic/anionic surfactants. 95%-95% reduction is achieved for all heavy oils investigated thus treated.

Key words: "Generalized" cationic/anionic surfactant, Heavy oil, Emulsification, Viscosity reduction