Drag-reducing agents for hydrocarbon pipelines

加拿大拥有庞大的管道网络，将原油和精炼石油产品运输到本地和海外市场是不可或缺的。长距离泵送液态碳氢化合物需要大量的电力，这对管道的潜在日吞吐量和能源效率产生了不利影响。为了降低泵送功率并提高管道吞吐量，管道运营商经常使用油溶性聚合物（通常称为减阻剂（DRAs））。当在管道内注入并与液态烃混合时，DRAs可以减少20%至50%的阻力，这意味着泵消耗的能量更少。不幸的是，预测这些减阻器的减阻能力往往具有挑战性。我们与Enbridge的合作将开发一种程序，以更好地预测含聚合物dra的碳氢化合物液体的摩擦阻力。该方法将使管道运营商能够为管道中给定批次的碳氢化合物选择最有效的DRA及其最佳用量。该项目的影响将是更大幅度地减少水泵消耗的电力，并更有效地向当地和国际市场运送石油产品。我们预测DRAs疗效的程序将采用三步方法实现。首先，我们将发现和表征几种碳氢化合物- dra溶液的材料特性，并在实验室规模的管环中测量它们的摩擦阻力。其次，我们将确定与管道流动的摩擦阻力最相关的流体性质。第三，将推导出一个模型方程，该方程将流体的材料特性与摩擦阻力测量联系起来。该方程需要简单的流变测量，以提供对烃类- dra组合摩擦阻力的准确估计。拟议的研究计划将提供为碳氢化合物管道选择DRAs所需的知识和专业知识。加拿大的石油工业将受益于该项目的成果，提高管道效率，减少环境排放。

Canada has a vast network of pipelines that are integral for the transportation of crude oil and refined petroleum products to local and oversea markets. Pumping liquid hydrocarbons over long distance demands a considerable amount of electricity that adversely effects the potential daily throughput and energy efficiency of the pipelines. To reduce the pumping power and increase the pipelines throughput, oil-soluble polymers - commonly called drag-reducing agents (DRAs) - have often been employed by pipelines operators. When injected and mixed with the liquid hydrocarbon within the pipeline, the DRAs can induce a 20 to 50% reduction in drag, which translates to less energy consumed by the pumps. Unfortunately, predicting the drag-reducing capabilities of these DRAs has often been challenging. Our partnership with Enbridge will develop a procedure for better predicting the friction drag of hydrocarbon liquids with polymeric DRAs. The derived method will enable pipeline operators to select the most effective DRA and its optimum dosage for the given batch of hydrocarbon in the pipeline. The implications of this project will be a greater reduction in electricity consumed by the pumps and a more efficient delivery of oil products to local and international markets.Our procedure for predicting the efficacy of DRAs will be achieved using a three step approach. First, we will discover and characterize the material properties of several hydrocarbon-DRA solutions and measure their friction drag in a laboratory-scale pipe loop. Second, we will identify the fluid property that correlates best with the friction drag of the pipe flow. Third, a model equation will be derived that relates the material properties of the fluid with the friction drag measurements. The equation will require a simple rheological measurement to provide an accurate estimation of the frictional drag of a hydrocarbon-DRA combination. The proposed research program will provide the knowledge and expertise required to select DRAs for hydrocarbon pipelines. The petroleum industry in Canada will benefit from the achievements of this program by increasing the efficiency of their pipelines and reducing their environmental emissions.