A viscosity-conversion model for thermal cracking of heavy oils

Thermal cracking processes such as visbreaking are used in the petroleum industry to reduce the viscosity of heavy feedstocks, such as atmospheric and vacuum residues, without forming coke or unstable asphaltenes. Thermal cracking offers a potential method to reduce the viscosity of heavy oils and bitumen, enabling their pipeline transportation with less solvent addition. Viscosity is the most important property for transportation of crude oils,...