The viscosity of heavy oil hinders its cold production, posing a major challenge to its exploitation. The high viscosity of heavy oil can be attributed to the content of asphaltene. However, during the collection of heavy oil samples from various regions in China, we observed that heavy oils with high total acid number (TAN) but low asphaltene content also exhibit relatively high viscosity. Hence, the viscosity mechanism of high-acid crude oil, the influence of petroleum acid on heavy oil viscosity, should be investigated. In this study, Xinjiang Chunfeng heavy oil was selected for analysis, possessing a viscosity of 16,886 mPa·s at 50 °C and a high total acid number (TAN) of 17.72 mg KOH/g. Separation was performed on the deacidified oil and the acid component using an alkali-modified silica gel column. The viscosity changes of the deacidified oil and its blends with varying proportions of the acid component were determined, along with the viscosity changes of the deacidified oil and acid components in a toluene solution. The molecular composition was analyzed using a Fourier transform ion cyclotron resonance mass spectrometer (FT-ICR MS). The findings indicated successful separation of petroleum acid from the heavy oil, the acid component yield being 16.65 wt %. Furthermore, the viscosity of the petroleum acid was significantly higher than that of the deacidified oil. The rate of viscosity change of the acid component in the toluene solvent exceeded that of the deacidified oil, and the viscosity of the deacidified oil notably increased upon the addition of acid. In conjunction with the viscosity data, it was observed that the deacidified oil exhibited the removal of O2 and O4 compounds, resulting in a 43.11% viscosity reduction at 30 °C compared with crude oil. Thus, the monoacid and diacid components considerably affected the viscosity of heavy oil.
© 2023 The Authors. Published by American Chemical Society.