Viscosity Reduction of Heavy Oil by Ultrasonic

In this paper, the effect of ultrasonic wave was evaluated on viscosity and pour point of heavy oil. The effects of time, temperature and power on the viscosity reduction of heavy oil were tested at first. The results showed that ultrasonic wave can reduce the viscosity of the heavy oil from Jinghe Oilfield effectively with the highest viscosity reduction of 87.2%. Then the pour point depressing was evaluated to find the highest pour point depression of 4.8°C. Partly recovering of the viscosity after ultrasonic treatment, the paraffin crystal morphology analysis was conducted on the heavy oil to elucidate the mechanism of viscosity reduction and pour point depression.