Pipeline transportation is the most convenient means of transportation of crude oil continuously and economically from production site to refinery. However, transportation of heavy crude oil (HCO) through pipelines is difficult due to its high viscosity. The high viscosity of heavy crude oil is mainly due to the presence of poly‐aromatic compounds like resins and asphaltenes. Emulsification of HCO using surfactant is believed to be the most favorable technique to reduce the viscosity of HCO for efficient pipeline transport. In the present study, oil‐in‐water (O/W) emulsion has been formulated using a non‐ionic surfactant Polyoxyethylene (5) sorbitan monooleate (PS‐81) at different pH, surfactant concentration, and oil content. Box–Behnken response surface method has been used to optimize two responses, apparent viscosity and emulsion stability index (ESI). The optimal values of the parameters found are 75%v/v oil content, 2.5%w/v surfactant concentration, and pH value of 7 at which experimental value of emulsion viscosity is 0.2162 Pa·s, at 150 RPM, with a reduction of viscosity by 95.8% and having ESI of 98.16 after 24 h at 30°C.

中文翻译：

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通过使用聚山梨醇酯81乳化为O / W乳状液降低印度重质原油的粘度

管道运输是从生产地点到炼油厂连续，经济地运输原油的最便捷手段。但是，由于重油（HCO）的粘度很高，因此很难通过管道运输。重质原油的高粘度主要是由于存在诸如树脂和沥青质的多芳族化合物。使用表面活性剂乳化HCO被认为是降低HCO粘度以进行有效管道运输的最有利技术。在本研究中，使用非离子表面活性剂聚氧乙烯（5）脱水山梨醇单油酸酯（PS-81）在不同的pH，表面活性剂浓度和油含量下配制水包油（O / W）乳液。Box–Behnken响应面方法已用于优化两个响应，表观粘度和乳液稳定性指数（ESI）。所找到参数的最佳值为油含量为75％v / v，表面活性剂浓度为2.5％w / v，pH值为7，在150 RPM下，乳化液粘度的实验值为0.2162 Pa·s，降低了。在30°C下放置24小时后的粘度为95.8％，ESI为98.16。