Alkyl fumarate copolymers as pour point depressants of waxy crude oils

ELIAS MELLUSO; TAMARA G OBERTI; FERNANDO AMARILLA; M. SUSANA CORTIZO; PABLO PERUZZO

Simposio; Simposio Latinoamericano de Polímeros 2018; 2018

The pour point of a fuel or oil is the lowest temperature at which it will pour when cooled under defined conditions. In general, the pour point isindicative of the amount of wax in an oil. At low temperatures, the wax tends to separate, trapping a substantial amount of oil, inhibiting oil flow andhindering lubrication. So pour point depressants are added, allowing mineral oils to function efficiently at low temperatures. By altering the wax crystal size, they inhibit lateral crystal growth and keep the bulk oil in a liquid state. Most pour point depressants are polymeric organic compounds containing a long aliphatic portion that co-crystallizes with the wax. This work presentsthe synthesis of new copolymers based on alkyl fumarates (AF) and vinyl benzoate (VB) or styrene (St) as comonomers to test as pour point depressants