Issues on Static Electrification by Oil Products Flow through Pipelines

Taking flow electrification of oil products through pipelines as the special topic, referring to a series of foreign papers, in combination with our recent studies and with the purpose of benefiting the people working in oil storage and transportation engineering sector to guard against electrostatic hazards, the paper explains that, the phenomenon of flow electrification is due to the convection of charges coming from the electrical double layer at the liquid/solid interface, and the degree of streaming electrification depends on factors such as oil properties, pipeline structure, and flow velocity; in the case of metal pipe, grounding allows the charges in the wall to neutralize immediately with the opposite charges in the ground , but has no effects on the relaxation of charges in the flow; in the case of insulating pipe, charges can accumulate at the liquid/solid interface, and when the accumulation is high enough, brush discharge or spark discharge may occur, resulting in shortening pipe age and damaging transportation safety.