Perserve It Now or Lose It (Completely) Later.

Crude oil is a thick oil used in today’s economy. Research has been made looking at catalytic ionic liquids (ILs). These liquids were prepared to test out if the crude oil’s viscosity will decrease and an impact the on sulfur levels (as H₂S bonds break). The research found that 70-78% of the treated oil had a viscosity reduction. Furthermore, as time and ILs increased, there was a 20% sulfur reduction.  This research is beneficial because with a viscosity reduction more oil can be preserved and used for the future.  The tradeoffs include the scarcity of crude oil in the future.  

Source: Shaban, S. et al. 2014.http://pubs.acs.org/doi/pdf/10.1021/ef500993d

 

 

 

 

 

    

Source: Shaban, S. et al. 2014.http://pubs.acs.org/doi/pdf/10.1021/ef500993d

Reference:

Shaban, S., Dessouky, S., Badawi, A., El Sabagh, A. Zahran, & A., Mousa, M. (2014). Upgrading and Viscosity Reduction of Heavy Oil by Catalytic Ionic Liquid. Energy & Fuels. A-I.

- Lilliana Olivares
September 25, 2014