Applied Research of Solar Energy for Heating Crude Oil of Transportation

The crude oil is usually heated and insulated to keep better flowability during the transportation because the flowability of crude oil with high solidification point and viscosity value is worse at ambient temperature. Utilization of solar energy instead of general energy for heating fuel oil can decrease a deal of energy consumption. According to the process conditions and operating characteristic of crude oil, a solar energy system for oilfield is designed. It consists of solar collector array, heat exchanger, hot water storage tanks and control system. In this system, through a heat exchanger the crude oil is heated indirectly by hot water, which is provided from solar energy collectors. Under the condition of radiant intensity of solar energy in this region, the system can provide hot water for 6 to 8 hours per day, and the temperature of heated crude oil is increased by 25 to 30. It is expected that the natural gas consumption: can be decreased up to 9×104 m³ annually.