blackmot
Petroleum
- Aug 25, 2006
- 5
I am doing a study on viscosity blending requirements for heavy crude oil to pipeline specifications, using density control/feedback to the blending unit.
The prediction of the viscosity of crude oil blends using the Refutas equation usually works quite well, but in this case I am finding that the results of the blending predictions do not match my real life samples. The predicted viscosity is substantially lower than the measured blend viscosity in the lab.
I thought that perhaps this is an effect of volumetric shrinkage, because of the wide disparity on densities of the two products, over 1000 kg/m3 for the heavy crude and less than 700 kg/m3 for the diluent. The required dilution factor is on the order of 30 volume %. The shrinkage factor is about 5.5%. Does anyone know where I could find any information on the impact of shrinkage on viscosity blending prediction in crude oil?
The prediction of the viscosity of crude oil blends using the Refutas equation usually works quite well, but in this case I am finding that the results of the blending predictions do not match my real life samples. The predicted viscosity is substantially lower than the measured blend viscosity in the lab.
I thought that perhaps this is an effect of volumetric shrinkage, because of the wide disparity on densities of the two products, over 1000 kg/m3 for the heavy crude and less than 700 kg/m3 for the diluent. The required dilution factor is on the order of 30 volume %. The shrinkage factor is about 5.5%. Does anyone know where I could find any information on the impact of shrinkage on viscosity blending prediction in crude oil?
