Electrochemically Enhanced Deposition of Scale from Chosen Formation Waters from the Norwegian Continental Shelf

Abstract

Reservoir formation waters typically contain scaling ions which can precipitate and form mineral deposits. Such mineral deposition can be accelerated electrochemically, whereby the application of potential between two electrodes results in oxygen reduction and water electrolysis. Both processes change the local pH near the electrodes and affect the surface deposition of pH-sensitive minerals. In the context of the plugging and abandonment of wells, electrochemically enhanced deposition could offer a cost-effective alternative to the established methods that rely on setting cement plugs. In this paper, we tested the scale electro-deposition ability of six different formation waters from selected reservoirs along the Norwegian continental shelf using two experimental setups, one containing CO2 and one without CO2. As the electrochemical deposition of scaling minerals relies on local pH changes near the cathode, geochemical modelling was performed to predict oversaturation with respect to the different mineral phases at different pH values. In a CO2-free environment, the formation waters are mainly oversaturated with portlandite at pH > 12. When CO2 was introduced to the system, the formation waters were oversaturated with calcite. The presence of mineral phases was confirmed by powder X-ray diffraction (XRD) analyses of the mineral deposits obtained in the laboratory experiments. The geochemical-modelling results indicate several oversaturated Mg-bearing minerals (e.g., brucite, dolomite, aragonite) in the formation waters but these, according to XRD results, were absent in the deposits, which is likely due to the significant domination of calcium-scaling ions in the solution. The amount of deposit was found to be proportional to the concentration of calcium present in the formation waters. Formation waters with a high concentration of Ca ions and a high conductivity yielded more precipitate.

Phosphorus Recovery from Whole Digestate through Electrochemical Leaching and Precipitation

“…Thermodynamic equilibrium indicates that calcium hydroxide will precipitate in the cathode environment, as reported in previous electrochemical studies. 51,52 However, calcium hydroxide precipitation appeared kinetically limited: the precipitation was most evident under the longest operation duration (5.5 h) under 5 A m −2 and less apparent when the duration was reduced (<3.5 h) under 10−30 A m −2 (Figures 4C and S5). The low total inorganic carbon (TIC) content of 0.05% (Figure 4D) under 5 A m −2 indicates low production of calcium carbonate, benefited from the carbonate pretreatment in the anode (Table S2).…”

Research Progress on Novel Electrochemical Descaling Technology for Enhanced Hardness Ion Removal

“…During the electrochemical descaling process, cathodic electrolysis of water produces H 2 and OH − . In the solution, HCO 3 − , Ca 2+ , and Mg 2+ react with OH − on the cathode surface to form CaCO 3 and Mg(OH) 2 precipitates [68]. As the reaction progresses, the scale layer gradually covers the cathode surface [69].…”