Experimental Investigation of Pure and Gas-Saturated Crude Oil Viscosity and Density from 268 to 308 K and Up to 23 MPa

Abstract

An extension of a conventional apparatus is presented and applied in order to measure viscosities and densities of pure and gas-saturated liquids at elevated pressures. The viscosity of n-decane at pressures up to 10 MPa is shown to deviate less than 1% from literature values. Viscosities and densities of a light sweet crude oil are reported at pressures in the range of atmospheric to 23 MPa and from 268 to 308 K. Both viscosity and density of pure hydrocarbon liquids increase as a function of pressure, while they decrease as expected in the presence of dissolved methane. For seawater, an abnormal behavior is found with respect to the pressure dependency of the viscosity.

Experimental Characterisation and Field Experience of a Reusable, Modified Polyurethane Foam for the Mechanical Clean-Up of Oil Spills on the Sea Surface

“…Long-chain hydrocarbons, especially crude oils, can vary greatly in terms of their material properties. Therefore, the recovery characteristics of the sponge were investigated with sunflower oil, transparent white oil (PIONIER 7467 H & R Ölwerke Schindler GmbH, Hamburg, Germany) coloured with a lipophilic dye (Sudan Red 7B, CAS 6368-72-5, Sigma-Aldrich Co., St. Louis, MO, USA) for visualization purposes, and crude oil (Louisiana Sweet Crude Oil, British Petroleum, Marlin platform, Dorado fields, Australia, see also [23,24]). Since white oil can be used as a safe oil model, which is easy to handle and offers characteristics related to crude oil, it serves as an internal reference.…”

“…In Table 1, the measured viscosities and densities for the respective oils at 20 °C are listed. A more detailed analysis has already been published by Pesch et al [23,24]. According to the test method established by ASTM International [21], the oil type can be still considered as light due to its low viscosity and is therefore comparable to diesel fuel or mineral oil.…”