The deposition of solids from mixtures of a paraffinic wax (C20−C40) dissolved in a multicomponent solvent (C9−C16) was studied under laminar flow conditions. A novel benchscale flow loop
was developed, which consisted of a jacketed heat-exchange section for solids deposition on the
inner surface of an aluminum tube. Experiments were performed to investigate the effects of the
wax−solvent mixture composition, hot and cold stream temperatures, flow or shear rate,
deposition residence time, and hydrodynamic entry length on the deposition process. The data
were analyzed with a pseudo-steady-state heat-transfer model, which validated the solids
deposition process to be controlled primarily by heat transfer. The mass of deposited solids was
related to the ratio of temperature difference across the deposit layer and the overall temperature
difference. Gas chromatography (GC) analyses of the deposited layer showed significant shifts
in the carbon number distribution. The C20+ content of the deposit layer was observed to be higher,
by ∼70%−200%, than that of the corresponding wax−solvent mixture.