Research progress on mechanism and application of oil-soluble viscosity reducer

Among various heavy oil recovery technologies, physical viscosity reduction has the advantages of simple process and good adaptability, as well as the disadvantages of high production cost and shortage of thin crude oil resources, while chemical viscosity reduction has the advantages of fast effect and low energy consumption, but the disadvantages of complex treatment process. Oil-soluble viscosity reducer technology combines the advantages of both physical and chemical viscosity reduction methods, and has attracted key attention of experts in the industry in recent years due to its many advantages such as less addition, good effect, low cost and simple post-treatment. Herein, the reasons for the high viscosity of heavy crude oil was introduced, followed by analysis on the viscosity reduction mechanism of oil-soluble viscosity reducer. The synthesis process of various oil-soluble viscosity reducers was further summarized, with the advantages and disadvantages of different types of viscosity reducer reviewed. Compared with binary and ternary oil-soluble viscosity reducers, the various polar groups of quaternary oil-soluble viscosity reducer could act better with the macromolecules in heavy crude oil and destroy the layered structure of resin and asphaltene, leading to significant reduction of heavy oil viscosity. Meanwhile, the combination use of viscosity reducers could enhance the viscosity reduction effect. Finally, the development trend of oil-soluble viscosity reducer was prospected. It was believed that further in-depth study on the viscosity reduction mechanism at the molecular level and optimization on the synthesis process of viscosity reducer from the perspective of green environmental protection were necessary. The solution of the above problems would contribute to the design, preparation and wide application of high-efficiency oil-soluble viscosity reducer molecules. © 2024 Fine Chemicals. All rights reserved.