Poly(ethylene-co-vinyl acetate) (EVA) as wax inhibitor of a Brazilian crude oil: oil viscosity, pour point and phase behavior of organic solutions

Several techniques have been used to minimize the problems caused by the wax deposition, and the continuous addition of polymeric inhibitors is considered an attractive technological alternative. The addition of copolymers like polyacrylates, polymethacrylates or poly(ethylene-co-vinyl acetate) (EVA) permit to inhibit the deposition phenomenon; nonetheless, this effect is specific, i.e. similar copolymers present different performance depending on their physical–chemical properties in solution. In this work, the influence of the EVA vinyl acetate content on the viscosity and the pour point of a Brazilian crude oil were evaluated. A correlation between both results was also obtained. The phase behavior and the solubility parameter of EVA copolymers, with different vinyl acetate contents, were investigated in various solvents together with an evaluation of the efficiency of these copolymers as pour point depressants for two different samples of crude oil. EVA copolymers containing 20, 30, 40 and 80 wt.% of vinyl acetate were used and tests with the crude oil were carried out using 50, 500, 1000 and 5000 ppm of EVA as additive. The results obtained from viscosity measurements showed that only below the temperature at which wax crystals start forming did the copolymer exhibit a strong influence in the reduction of oil viscosity, at an optimum concentration. The pour point results revealed EVA 30 to be the most efficient. The results obtained from both experiments showed that the viscosity and the pour point behaviors do not show good correlation. Not only the solubility parameter and the vinyl acetate content, but also the molecular weight and polydispersity have an important influence on both phase behavior and pour point depression. Furthermore, it was confirmed that the additive must present a reduced solubility at a temperature close to the crude oil cloud point. This, however, is not the only factor that determines the efficiency of the additive as paraffin/wax deposition inhibitor.