Rheological behaviour modification of Basrah crude oil by graphene additions at different temperatures in petroleum pipeline

The rheological properties of crude oil is highly affected by the operating and ambient temperatures. In the present investigation, the viscosity of Basrah crude oil (API=30.1) was improved using graphene at various nano-additions. Three concentrations of graphene were added to the crude oil (i.e., 0.02, 0.11, and 0.2 wt %) at different operating temperatures of 15, 40, and 65°C depending on Iraqi weather between summer and winter. The results indicated that the crude oil dynamic viscosity reduced with increasing temperature and with graphene additions. Also, it was observed that the operating temperature is the chief factor that influenced the rheological specifications. It was found that the degree of viscosity reduction (DVR%) was 7%, 32%, and 57% at operating temperatures of 15, 40, and 65 °C, respectively. Additionally, the rheological behavior evaluation results of parent crude oil and nano-treated crude oil indicated that the main behavior was Newtonian under all operating temperature and nano-additions. Finally, it was observed that the graphene additions play an important role in assessing the viscosity of crude oil and can improve the consumed energy of crude oil pumping via pipelines.