Effect of Fe₃O₄ Nanoparticle Size on the Performance of Magnetic Nanocomposite Pour Point Depressants
- 1Downhole Service Company of Daqing Oilfield Co., Ltd., Daqing 163000, China
- 2Petrochina Daqing Petrochemical Company, Daqing 163000, China
Abstract
Waxy crude oils exhibit poor low-temperature flowability due to wax crystallization and the formation of a three-dimensional gel network, leading to operational challenges in production and transportation. In this work, a series of Fe₃O₄@ethylene–vinyl acetate (EVA) nanocomposite pour point depressants (F-NPPDs) with different Fe₃O₄ particle sizes were synthesized via hydrothermal preparation, surface modification, and solution blending. The effects of Fe₃O₄ particle size on the physicochemical properties, wax crystallization behavior, and low-temperature rheology of a 20 wt% wax model oil were systematically investigated. Results show that all F-NPPDs significantly improve flowability compared to neat EVA. Among the samples prepared, F2-NPPD exhibits the best overall performance, reducing the pour point to 20 °C and markedly decreasing apparent viscosity and gelation temperature. Rheological and DSC analyses confirm that F-NPPDs effectively lower wax crystallization temperature, weaken gel strength, and reduce both storage and loss moduli. Polarized light microscopy reveals that the addition of Fe₃O₄@EVA transforms wax crystals from dense needle-like structures into dispersed spherical or flower-like morphologies, thereby disrupting the interconnected wax network. The enhanced performance is primarily attributed to Fe₃O₄-induced heterogeneous nucleation, which increases nucleation density and refines wax crystal size. Particle size is identified as the dominant factor governing performance, while magnetic interactions play a secondary role. Overall, this study demonstrates that tailoring Fe₃O₄ particle size is an effective strategy to optimize EVA-based nanocomposite pour point depressants for the improved low-temperature flow assurance of waxy crude oils.
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BibTeX
@article{ma2026effect,
title = {{Effect of Fe₃O₄ Nanoparticle Size on the Performance of Magnetic Nanocomposite Pour Point Depressants}},
author = {Shuhan Ma and Xu Lu and Xijiu Sun and Yuxi Liu and Hongjing Li},
journal = {Magnetochemistry},
year = {2026},
month = sep,
doi = {10.3390/magnetochemistry12100108},
url = {https://doi.org/10.3390/magnetochemistry12100108},
note = {CC BY},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Effect of Fe₃O₄ Nanoparticle Size on the Performance of Magnetic Nanocomposite Pour Point Depressants
AU - Shuhan Ma
AU - Xu Lu
AU - Xijiu Sun
AU - Yuxi Liu
AU - Hongjing Li
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/09/01
JO - Magnetochemistry
DO - 10.3390/magnetochemistry12100108
UR - https://doi.org/10.3390/magnetochemistry12100108
AB - Waxy crude oils exhibit poor low-temperature flowability due to wax crystallization and the formation of a three-dimensional gel network, leading to operational challenges in production and transportation. In this work, a series of Fe₃O₄@ethylene–vinyl acetate (EVA) nanocomposite pour point depressants (F-NPPDs) with different Fe₃O₄ particle sizes were synthesized via hydrothermal preparation, surface modification, and solution blending. The effects of Fe₃O₄ particle size on the physicochemical properties, wax crystallization behavior, and low-temperature rheology of a 20 wt% wax model oil were systematically investigated. Results show that all F-NPPDs significantly improve flowability compared to neat EVA. Among the samples prepared, F2-NPPD exhibits the best overall performance, reducing the pour point to 20 °C and markedly decreasing apparent viscosity and gelation temperature. Rheological and DSC analyses confirm that F-NPPDs effectively lower wax crystallization temperature, weaken gel strength, and reduce both storage and loss moduli. Polarized light microscopy reveals that the addition of Fe₃O₄@EVA transforms wax crystals from dense needle-like structures into dispersed spherical or flower-like morphologies, thereby disrupting the interconnected wax network. The enhanced performance is primarily attributed to Fe₃O₄-induced heterogeneous nucleation, which increases nucleation density and refines wax crystal size. Particle size is identified as the dominant factor governing performance, while magnetic interactions play a secondary role. Overall, this study demonstrates that tailoring Fe₃O₄ particle size is an effective strategy to optimize EVA-based nanocomposite pour point depressants for the improved low-temperature flow assurance of waxy crude oils.
SN - 2312-7481
ER -