The pour point of a liquid is the lowest temperature at which the liquid is flowable and pumpable. For crude oil, many factors affect the pour point temperature. The presence of paraffins and asphaltenes affects the pour point temperature, as well as the ambient temperature.
Crude with higher pour point temperatures is more difficult to produce with traditional techniques. Producers can develop custom processes based on the compounds in a crude oil to allow for a better pour point for production and transportation purposes.
In this blog post, we will discuss pour point temperature, how it affects production and solutions to producing oil with high pour point temperatures.
Pour Point Temperature
The pour point of a liquid is generally the temperature at which it becomes semi-solid and loses its flow characteristics. In crude oil, a high pour point is associated with the presence of higher levels of paraffin, asphaltenes, and other condensates.
Oil properties vary in composition according to geological formation. Different compositional analyses are used to characterize the properties of oils like API gravity, viscosity, wax content, wax appearance temperature, and pour point that factor into oil production methods. Producers use the information to formulate additives and mitigation strategies for each formation’s specifications. Lowering the pour point of crude is a necessary step in the production of heavy crude oil.
How to Lower Pour Point
In crude with a higher pour point, mitigation practices must be employed to reduce the pour point temperature and ensure the crude will flow through production equipment. Producers combat the production issues of high pour point heavy crude by applying heat, separating with water, or adding pour-point depressants.
Pour point depressants come in many forms. Most recently, sustainable chemistry practices have aided in the development of biodegradable additives that greatly lower the pour point temperature and make the extraction of crude oil easier.
Watch as biodegradable LamFlo® is added to heavy crude and quickly lowers the pour point temperature:
LamFlo® for Pour Point Reduction
The addition of LamFlo® lowers the pour point of low API gravity oils by as much as 40º. LamFlo® reacts with the asphaltenes present in crude with high pour points and breaks apart the matrix chains. It suspends the longer hydrocarbon chains and modifies the asphaltene matrix, lowering the pour point and reducing heavy oil viscosity. In addition, it prevents asphaltenes from reforming.
LamFlo® is a proprietary blended solvent with:
- very low odor
- high solvency
- high flash point
- extremely low pour point
LamFlo® is aggressive on bitumen and other heavy oils containing high concentrations of asphaltenes. It is biodegradable, BTEX free, and has low toxicity and a very good environmental profile, making it ideal for land or offshore applications. When added early in production and pumped continuously, LamFlo® proves to have long-lasting results, keeping oil flowing and preventing buildups.
