“Resource Utilization of Expired Progesterone Medicines As Flow Improver for Waxy Crude Oils”, 2024 ():
Waste progesterone can be used as viscosity reducer and pour point depressant.
The possible mechanism of waste medicine as crude oil flow improver was proposed.
It is economically feasible to use waste progesterone as a flow improver.
At present, the treatment of expired medicines mainly involves burning, which means waste of resources and carbon dioxide emissions, and it does not comply with the concept of resource recycling. In this study, in order to explore the resource usage pathways of expired medicines, progesterone drugs were evaluated as crude oil flow improvers as an example.
The results show that progesterone injection (PI) and progesterone capsule (PC) both act as viscosity reducers and pour point depressants in different crude oil, and 500 ppm PI and 300 ppm PC are the best dosages, respectively. 500 ppm PI can reduce the viscosity of HN oil sample by 60.40%, and depress the pour point by 8.5℃. 300 ppm PC can reduce the viscosity of HN oil by 54.7%, and depress the pour point by 10.9℃.
Furthermore, through Differential Scanning Calorimetry (DSC) and wax crystal morphology analysis, the possible mechanism of this expired medicine as crude oil flow improver was further discussed.
Finally, considering the costs of concentration, transportation, treatment, processing, and other links, the possible cost of crude oil flow improver was summed up, and its market feasibility was analyzed.
This study provides a reference case for the resource usage of expired medicines.