Synergistic effect of modified ethylene-vinyl acetate and asphaltenes on improving the flow properties of model oil

The effect of alcoholic polyethylene-vinyl acetate (EVA) product ethylene-vinyl alcohol copolymer (EVAL) on the low-temperature flow properties of model oil containing asphaltene (ASP) was investigated. The change of wax crystal microscopic morphology of model oil before and after modification were examined, and the influence of asphaltene mass fraction on the rheological improvement effect of EVAL was analyzed. The composite system of EVAL and asphaltene significantly reduced the pour point, gel point, apparent viscosity, storage modulus and loss modulus of waxy oil at low temperatures. When the EVAL concentration is 400 ppm and the asphaltene mass fraction is 0.5 wt%, the synergistic effect of the two is optimal, which can reduce the pour point by 17 °C and the modulus value by more than 98%. The introduction of EVAL strengthens the interaction between asphaltenes and wax crystals, forming EVAL-ASP aggregates, which promote the adsorption of wax crystals on asphaltenes to form composite particles, and the polar groups prevent the aggregation of wax crystals and reduce the size of wax crystals, thus greatly improving the fluidity of waxy oils.