Zapped crude oil flows faster through pipes

Zapping thick crude oil with a magnetic or electric field could makeit flow more smoothly through pipes. The technique, which reduces theviscosity of the liquid, could make transporting crude through coldunderwater pipes easier and cheaper, researchers claim. Thecost of transporting oil is a major factor in the energy economy,although the type of oil being moved is changing. More heavy oil isbeing pumped. Lighter crude is being found less and less.Sinceheavy crude is more viscous, it flows more slowly through the pipes,reducing the volume of oil that can be pumped. If it flows too slowly,oil companies try diluting it with gasoline or other solvents, orsometimes heating the oil. But those techniques can be expensive andhard to implement on ocean-based oil rigs. The viscosity of a suspension is partly the result of the size ofthe suspended particles. Smaller particles create a fluid that is moreviscous than large particles. Out of research it became clear that the magnetic field caused iron particles tostick together into larger clumps. Once the field was turned off theycontinued to stick together for several hours, only gradually breakingapart. The reserach team thereafterdecided to see what affect magnetic and electric fields would have onthe viscosity of crude oil. Crude oil cancontain either paraffin, asphalt, or both. The researchers found that amagnetic field reduced the viscosity of paraffin-based crude oil byabout 15% when applied at 1.33 Tesla for 50 seconds. The reduction inviscosity lasted for several hours, gradually returning to normal. Taosays the magnetic field seems to have polarised the paraffin particles,causing them to clump together in the same way as the iron particles. Themagnetic field did not work on asphalt-based crude oil, however. So the team decided to try applying an electric field to this mixture. Theyapplied a powerful electric field to the oil and again saw a reductionin viscosity. Whatever the process, the particles clumped together before graduallybreaking apart over several hours.This technique could, according to the researchers, eventually be useful in oil pipelines.Powerful magnets could be positioned at regular intervals along thepipeline, or electrified grids could run on the inside.

Source: newscientisttech.comAdded: 14 September 2006