Improvement of Nigerian Crude Residue

This research investigates how the properties of the Nigerian crude residue can be improved on to enhance its local usage. Chemical treatment was carried out on Nigerian crude residue and its rheological properties were tested. The physiochemical propertiesspecific gravity cum viscosity measured after the treatment gave 12.44% improvement in specific gravity and 17.92 times improvement in viscosity of untreated residue when oxidation technique was used while sulphurisation gave 9.5% improvement in specific gravity and kinematic viscosity was 15.24 times better than that of untreated bitumen. Blending and addition of polymer also improves the physiochemical properties considerably depending on the properties of blending additive used. With the application of this treatment technique, the properties of the Nigerian crude residue have been considerably improved and it was found to be suitable for construction purposes cum other uses.