ACOUSTIC TECHNOLOGY FOR REDUCING THE LOW-TEMPERATURE VISCOSITY OF PETROLEUM PRODUCTS IN PIPELINES

摘要

At low temperatures, many petroleum products become very thick, transforming, by nature, into a gel. High adhesion of the gel to the inner surface of the production pipeline is observed here. Available pump equipment cannot develop the static pressure necessary to displace from the site the gel column that has "frozen onto" the pipeline over a length ranging from several tens ol meters to several kilometers. Until now, this problem has been resolved by heating the entire pipeline, or a portion of it. usiny special electric heating elements in the form of strips (bands). Moreover, portable steam generators are used for gradual warming of the pipe from the outside. After rapid softening, the oil, as a thixotropic fluid, will return to its initial gel-like state over a period of several hours. These methods are extremely energy- and time-consuming.