Investigation of inhibitors efficacy in wax deposition mitigation using a laboratory scale flow loop

Abstract

Statistically reliable wax inhibition experimental data was obtained by utilizing the newly built laboratory scale flow loop. The comb-shaped inhibitors are found more effective in decreasing the thickness compared to the linear inhibitor under the same conditions. Moreover, this becomes more predominant as the chain length of inhibitors increases. Interestingly, even though all the inhibitors decreased the deposit thickness, the wax content increased significantly. Besides, the longer chain length (PI-B) of the inhibitor results in a higher wax content. Since the combination of growth and aging influenced by the presence of inhibitor significantly, paraffin inhibition efficiency (PIE) based on the wax mass was proposed to quantitatively assess the inhibitors. Based on the PIE, PI-B, and PI-C have more inhibition efficiency than PI-A. Therefore, when selecting wax inhibitor, one should be aware about the strength of the deposit gel in addition to the reduction of the deposit mass. Fogler HS. The strength of paraffin gels formed under static and flow conditions. Chem Eng Sci. 2005;60(13):3587-3598. 44. Bello OO, Fasesan SO, Teodoriu C, Reinicke KM. An evaluation of the performance of selected wax inhibitors on paraffin deposition of Nigerian crude oils.

Advances and Future Challenges of Wax Removal in Pipeline Pigging Operations on Crude Oil Transportation Systems

“…Crude oil, together with natural gas, is an existence form of petroleum and is mainly convoyed in pipe. This method faces an intractable flow assurance challenge, that is, when oil temperature drops below wax appearance temperature (WAT), wax components would precipitate and deposit onto the pipe wall, which narrows the flow passage and lowers the transportation capability . In worst cases, the bulk flow could be clogged so as to cause complete production shutdown, the remediation treatment an issue of millions of dollars of economic loss .…”

Synthesis and characterization of nanohybrid of poly(octadecylacrylates derivatives)/montmorillonite as pour point depressants and flow improver for waxy crude oil

“…At low temperature, the process of transporting crude oil through pipelines faces a significant challenge as a result of the precipitation wax crystals on the inner wall of the pipe, decreasing the cross‐section of the pipeline. This precipitation causes adverse economic effects, due to the blockage of the pipes and sometimes leads to pipe rupture and leakage of crude oil, causing considerable environmental issues …”

Experimental Study on Hydrate Formation and Flow Characteristics with High Water Cuts

“…Flow assurance problems such as hydrates [1,2], wax deposition [3][4][5][6][7], and asphaltenes are critical operating challenges to ensure the safe and efficient transportation of unprocessed well steams especially in offshore oil fields [8,9]. As the offshore deep-water reservoirs mature, especially if secondary or tertiary recovery methods are employed, the amount of produced water climbs, which increases the risk of gas hydrate plugging the pipelines.…”