What role do petroleum additives play in the transportation of petroleum?

Petroleum additives play a key role in the transportation of petroleum, mainly focusing on core goals such as ensuring transportation safety, improving transportation efficiency, maintaining oil quality. The following is a detailed explanation of its specific function:

1. Reduce oil viscosity improve fluidity

Background: Petroleum (especially crude oil) exhibits a significant increase in viscosity at low temperatures, which may lead to pipeline blockages, difficulties in pumping, increased transportation energy consumption costs.

Mechanism of action: By adding viscosity reducers (such as polyolefin ester compounds), the structure of wax crystals in the oil is disrupted wax particles are dispersed, reducing intermolecular forces thus lowering viscosity.

Effect: Even in low-temperature environments (such as winter pipeline transportation high latitude sea transportation), it can ensure smooth flow of oil products, reduce transportation resistance, lower pump load.

2. Inhibit wax deposition sedimentation to prevent pipeline blockage

Background: The wax component in petroleum crystallizes adheres to the inner walls of pipelines oil tanks when the temperature decreases. Long term accumulation can reduce the flow cross-section even lead to blockage.

Mechanism of action: Anti wax agents (such as poly (methyl methacrylate), alkyl naphthalene, etc.) can adsorb on the surface of wax crystals, preventing their growth mutual aggregation, changing the morphology of wax crystals to make them difficult to deposit.

Effect: Reduce the frequency of pipeline cleaning, extend the service life of equipment, avoid transportation interruptions caused by blockages.

3. Control corrosion protect transportation equipment

Background: Sulfides, moisture, organic acids, other components contained in petroleum can corrode the metal surfaces of pipelines, oil tanks, transportation vehicles, affecting equipment safety service life.

Mechanism of action: Corrosion inhibitors (such as organic amines imidazolines) can form a protective film on the surface of metals, isolating corrosive media contact with metals inhibiting corrosion reactions.

Applicable scenarios: Widely used in pipeline transportation, oil tanker trucks, oil tankers, etc., especially in the transportation of high sulfur crude oil, the effect is significant.

4. Eliminate static electricity reduce safety risks

Background: When oil flows at high speed in pipelines shakes in oil tanks, static electricity is generated due to friction. If static electricity accumulates to a certain extent, it may cause sparks pose a risk of explosion fire.

Mechanism of action: Antistatic agents (such as quaternary ammonium salts conductive polymer materials) can increase the conductivity of oil products, rapidly release static electricity, avoid charge accumulation.

Key role: Effectively reduce the probability of safety accidents caused by static electricity in processes such as oil loading unloading, pipeline transportation, etc.

5. Stabilize oil properties prevent quality deterioration

Background: During transportation, oil products may undergo property changes (such as delamination, emulsification, deterioration) due to factors such as temperature changes, oxidation, water infiltration.

Mechanism of action:

Emulsifier/demulsifier: If water is mixed during transportation causes emulsification, demulsifiers can promote oil-water separation; On the contrary, emulsifier can stabilize lotion (such as some product oil transportation scenarios).

Antioxidants: Inhibit the oxidation reaction of unsaturated hydrocarbons in oil products, prevent the formation of gum sediment, maintain the stability of oil products.

Effect: Ensure that the density, viscosity, fraction, other indicators of the oil meet the standards upon arrival at the destination, reducing quality loss.

6. Assist in loading, unloading, measuring to improve operational efficiency

Background: Poor liquidity, excessive foam other problems may affect the speed measurement accuracy of oil loading unloading.

Mechanism of action:

Defoamer (such as organic silicon): eliminate foam generated by mixing during loading unloading, avoid metering error oil spill risk.

Liquidity improver: further optimize the flowability of oil products, shorten loading unloading time, improve turnover rate.

summarize

Petroleum additives solve problems such as fluidity, corrosiveness, safety, stability during transportation in a targeted manner. They only ensure the smooth safe transportation of petroleum, but also reduce energy consumption equipment loss. They are indispensable auxiliary materials in the petroleum supply chain. Different transportation scenarios (such as pipelines, highways, sea freight) types of oil products (crude oil, refined oil, heavy oil, etc.) will choose specific combinations of additives based on their needs.