VISCOSITY AND CHEMICAL COMPOSITION CHANGES OF HEAVY OILS AFTER MICROWAVE PROCESSING

Based on intensive analyses of heterocomponents in heavy oils from the Liaohe, Shengli and Tuha Oilfields of China, a primary research on correlation between viscosity and chemical composition changes of original and microwave treated heavy oils was conducted. The results shew that the chemical composition of heavy oils was altered by a series of reactions under microwave processing, and the viscosity changed bidirectionally. The main microwave chemical reactions of heavy oils were cleavages of larger molecules into smaller ones, and were illustrated as follows: a) heterocomponents, especially oxygenated ones were decomposed prior to hydrocarbons by microwave radiation; b) the molecular distribution pattern of aliphatic and aromatic hydrocarbons remained unaltered under microwave processing, while that of heterocomponents was altered significantly, especially for alcohols and carboxylic acids; c) the chemical composition of heavy oils after microwave radiation was a comprehensive result of complex microwave chemical reactions varing in correlation to its original chemical nature, and was decisive for the direction and level of viscosity changes.