Wax deposition mechanisms: Is the current description sufficient?

Yang, Jinghao; Lu, Yingda; Daraboina, Nagu; Sarica, Cem

doi:10.1016/j.fuel.2020.117937

Cited by 72 publications

(49 citation statements)

References 24 publications

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“…Currently, there are modern methods for studying the kinetics of wax deposits formation, including assessing the effectiveness of wax deposition inhibitors. These methods include the laboratory installation «WaxFlowLoop» (Figure 3) [35][36][37]. This installation includes: a pump (b), a differential pressure gauge (h), a test section (c) cooled through an external pipeline (d), a feed tank (a) with an external liquid-cooled (j), liquid level sensor (i), and Coriolis flowmeter (f).…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Development of an Approach for Determining the Effectiveness of Inhibition of Paraffin Deposition on the Wax Flow Loop Laboratory Installation

2021

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The formation of wax deposits is a common phenomenon in the production and transportation of formation fluids. On the territory of the Perm Krai, this problem occurs in half of the mining funds. One of the most common and promising methods of dealing with these deposits is the use of inhibitor regents. The most popular technique for assessing the effectiveness of a wax inhibitor is the «Cold Finger», which has a number of significant drawbacks. This work presents a number of methods for assessing the effectiveness of inhibition of paraffin formation on the laboratory installation «WaxFlowLoop». A number of laboratory studies have been carried out to determine the effectiveness of a paraffin deposition inhibitor for inhibiting the paraffin formation process of four target fluids. Verification of the obtained values was carried out by comparing them with the field data. As a result of laboratory studies, it was found that the value of the inhibitor efficiency, determined by the «Cold Finger» method, differs from the field data by an average of 2 times. At the same time, the average deviation of the results determined at the «WaxFlowLoop» installation from the field data is 8.1%. The correct selection of a paraffin deposition inhibitor and its dosage can significantly increase the inter-treatment period of the well, thereby reducing its maintenance costs and increasing the efficiency of well operation.

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Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Development of an Approach for Determining the Effectiveness of Inhibition of Paraffin Deposition on the Wax Flow Loop Laboratory Installation

2021

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“…6 In severe cases, the continuous growth of the deposited layer may lead to a blockage that contributes to huge expenditure as a result of the remedies and the possible partial shutdown of the system. 7,8 A better understanding of the deposition mechanism and prediction is necessary to optimize the design and manage this issue chemically, 9,10 thermally, 11,12 and mechanically. 13−15 Several authors 16−18 proposed molecular diffusion, shear dispersion, Brownian diffusion, and gravity settling to predict the deposition phenomenon.…”

Section: ■ Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Waxy crude oil consists of high-molecular-weight linear n -alkanes that are usually dissolved in oil at reservoir conditions. − However, when the temperature falls below the wax appearance temperature (WAT) in the production, waxy components begin precipitating out of the oil, as shown in Figure . In severe cases, the continuous growth of the deposited layer may lead to a blockage that contributes to huge expenditure as a result of the remedies and the possible partial shutdown of the system. , A better understanding of the deposition mechanism and prediction is necessary to optimize the design and manage this issue chemically, , thermally, , and mechanically. − …”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Particulate Deposition Modeling for Predicting Paraffin Thickness in Flowlines: Application of Data Analytics for Model Parameters

Daraboina

Alhosani

2021

Ind. Eng. Chem. Res.

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Wax deposition in flowlines is a major flow assurance issue that lowers the oil production rate and causes significant economic losses. This justifies the need for reliable tools to accurately predict the deposition process and analyze the risk factors in production design and management. This study developed a mechanistic model based on the particulate deposition phenomenon. A mass balance was applied based on particle size, and the growth was tracked by the population balance model. The concept of critical size was applied to determine the fraction of aggregates that can deposit on the wall. An integrated simulator is developed by coupling thermodynamics, hydrodynamics, heat transfer, and deposition modules. In addition, data analytics was applied on available flow loop deposition data to develop a closure relation for the precipitation rate constant as a function of time, temperature, flow rate, and diameter. Then, another set of deposition data was used to verify the accuracy of the proposed model and closure. After the robustness of the developed model was tested, a sensitivity analysis was performed based on pipe size, particle size, and flow rate on the paraffin deposition rate. Based on the model results, the rate of deposition increased with increasing the diameter size, decreasing the initial particle size, and reducing the flow rate. This is attributed to several factors, such as the flow velocity that affects the sticking probability and the advection force applied on bigger particle sizes. Furthermore, the model results can aid in estimating optimum conditions to reduce or manage wax deposition in transport flowlines.

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“…In order to improve the flow and solve such issues, several methods like mechanical removal by pigging, induction heating, chemical dosing, emulsification and dilution are generally applied. Wax deposition is a major flow assurance problem that has drawn widespread attention in the past few decades (Yang et al 2020). The deposition of wax inside the subsea pipelines poses a serious threat during offshore hydrocarbon production.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A study on cashew nut shell liquid as a bio-based flow improver for heavy crude oil

Pandian

Dahyalal

Krishna

et al. 2021

J Petrol Explor Prod Technol

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Transportation of heavy crude oil through pipelines poses a great challenge in oil and gas industry. Crude oil chokes the pipelines when the temperature drops below the pour-point temperature. In the present study, a bio-based additive, i.e., Cashew Nut Shell Liquid (CNSL) has been tested as a flow improver for heavy crude. CNSL was obtained from waste cashew nut shell by means of mechanical extraction, and it was completely characterized. Similarly, the crude oil used in the study was characterized for its physio-chemical properties. Also, the crude oil was subjected to Saturates, Aromatics, Resins and Asphaltene analysis and Fourier Transform Infra-Red analysis. The raw and additive-treated crude oil with different CNSL dosages were subjected to pour-point and rheology measurements and optical micro-imaging analysis which indicated a remarkable improvement in flow whereby an optimum dose of 2000 ppm was observed. Furthermore, the effects of different parameters like shear rate, concentration of the flow improver and the effect of temperature on the crude oil flowability were studied. The process variables were optimized by means of Taguchi method, and the percentage contribution of each parameter was identified with the help of ANOVA table. The results indicate that a remarkable improvement in flow was observed at an optimum dose of 2000 ppm. The contribution of the concentration was found to be around 53%, whereas the contributions of the shear rate and the temperature were only 18.08 and 28.91%, respectively. Therefore, it has been observed that CNSL flow improvers extracted from cheap reasonable resources are more effective as they are cost-effective and eco-friendly when compared to conventional additives.

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Wax deposition mechanisms: Is the current description sufficient?

Cited by 72 publications

References 24 publications

Development of an Approach for Determining the Effectiveness of Inhibition of Paraffin Deposition on the Wax Flow Loop Laboratory Installation

Development of an Approach for Determining the Effectiveness of Inhibition of Paraffin Deposition on the Wax Flow Loop Laboratory Installation

Particulate Deposition Modeling for Predicting Paraffin Thickness in Flowlines: Application of Data Analytics for Model Parameters

A study on cashew nut shell liquid as a bio-based flow improver for heavy crude oil

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