Transporting Petroleum Could Now Be Done 30 Times Faster Than Usual
Researchers disproved Kauzmann-Eyring theory of molecular viscous flow .
In the late 1940s , Princeton University professors Walter Kauzmann and Henry Eyring formed a theory that all alkanes have a universal viscosity near their melting points . This has been cited over 3,000 times – only to be disproved by researchers from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign , opening doors for a faster transport of gas .
They were able to videotape the molecular movement of alkanes , the major component of petroleum and natural gas , and found that the thickness of liquid alkanes can be significantly reduced . This allows for a marked increase in the substance ’ s rate of flow .
Yang Zhang , assistant professor of nuclear , plasma , and radiological engineering ( NPRE ) and Beckman Institute at Illinois , led this research .
“ Alkane is basically a chain of carbon atoms ,” he said . “ By changing one carbon atom in the backbone of an alkane molecule , we can make it flow 30 times faster .”
This could mean that crude oil and gasoline could be transported across a country 30 times faster , and shortening the usual minutes of filling a tank of gas to only a few seconds .
Good thing that Zhang and his team challenged the classical Kauzmann-Eyring theory .
Zhang shared , “ The classical Kauzmann- Eyring theory of molecular viscous flow is over simplified . It seems some chemistry textbooks may need revisions .”
They discovered that there is a distinct oddeven effect of the liquid alkane dynamics , which was not expected from them . It is only known in basic organic chemistry that solid alkanes have that odd-even effect , that is , the difference in the periodic packing of odd- and even-numbered alkane solids results in oddeven variation of their densities and melting points . But because liquid have the lack of periodic structures , this property was not thought to be possible – until now .
It was made possible thanks to the high flux neutron sources at the National Institute of Standards and Technology ( NIST ) and Oak Ridge National Laboratory ( ORNL ), and the super high-speed ( at the pico-second , 1 trillionth of a second ) and super highresolution ( at the nano-meter , 1 billionth of a meter ) “ video cameras ” making use of neutrons to take movies of the molecules .
“ A neutron ‘ microscope ’ is the major breakthrough in materials research and we use it to look at everything . There are things we ’ ve never seen before ,” Zhang explained .
Applications of this discovery are not only on the delivery of petroleum but also in chemical processes like lubrication , diffusion through porous media , and heat transfer .
The details of their research “ Dynamic Odd- Even Effect in Liquid n-Alkanes near Their Melting Points ” can be found in the German publication Angewandte Chemie International Edition .
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