ISSN print edition: 0366-6352 ISSN electronic edition: 1336-9075 Registr. No.: MK SR 9/7 Published monthly

Ecofriendly nano-silica prepared from the local sand as drag reduction agent (DRA) for crude oil in transportation pipeline

Sana W. Adnan, Thamer J. Mohammed, Abdul Munem A. Karim, Talib M. Albayati, and Halah M. Hussein

Department of Chemical Process Engineering, College of Chemical Engineering, University of Technology- Iraq, Baghdad, Iraq

E-mail: Talib.M.Naieff@uotechnology.edu.iq

Received: 21 August 2025  Accepted: 26 December 2025

Abstract:

In this work, eco-friendly nano-silica particles were prepared using Iraqi sand in the western region using the sol–gel method. The synthesized Nano-Silica was implemented as a drag reduction agent (DRA) for crude oil in transportation pipeline. The characterizations for the prepared Nano-Silica were achieved using many methods. It was found that the parameters of characterization, average particle size and surface area were 32.97 nm and 629.3551 m²/g, respectively. The zeta potential analysis demonstrated that the synthesized Nano-Silica exhibited a negative electrical charge, thus enhancing its stability. The investigation of the drag reduction included the effect of Nano-Silica dose on the pressure drop values of heavy crude oil flowing through three varying diameters of carbon steel pipes: 0.5, 0.75, and 1 inch. The enhancement in the drag reduction ratio can be attributed to the concomitant reduction in the viscosity of the crude oil. Furthermore, the pressure drop is observed to diminish in correlation with the increased dosage of Nano-Silica. Consequently, it is established that silica sand serves as an effective alternative precursor that can be utilized as a silica resource and chemically processed to obtain silica nanoparticles, which serves as a potent drag reducing agent (DRA) for Iraqi crude oil.

Keywords: Nano-silica; Drag reduction; Heavy crude oil; Pressure drops; Pipeline

Full paper is available at www.springerlink.com.

DOI: 10.1007/s11696-025-04627-y

Chemical Papers 80 (4) 3465–3480 (2026)