Structural and rheological properties of microheterogeneous systems ‘solid hydrocarbons–liquid hydrocarbons’

Due to the aggregation of paraffin crystallites, the paraffin-containing disperse system in a nonpolar dispersion medium exhibits non-Newtonian and thixotropic rheological behavior. Experimental flow curves for the highly paraffinaceous crude oil as well as the model systems ‘paraffin–vaseline oil’ were described by the Casson equation. The Casson model was used to connect rheological coefficients and colloidal characteristics of the dispersion. For this purpose, the evaluation of the radius of the primary particle was made, based on the Casson model and those concerned with the interactions between the paraffin particles in nonpolar medium.