Single-Phase Wax Deposition Experiments

TLDR: In this paper, a reliable and accurate procedure for determination of wax thickness and wax roughness from pressure drop, weight, and laser measurements has been developed, which was not captured by the traditional pressure drop and weighing methods.

Abstract: The behavior of waxy crude oils in subsea production lines has been successfully investigated in a 2 in. deposition flow loop. A North Sea waxy gas condensate was used to investigate wax deposition in turbulent single-phase flow under different temperature and flow conditions. A reliable and accurate procedure for determination of wax thickness and wax roughness from pressure drop, weight, and laser measurements has been developed. The laser technique is a new and promising method to measure the spatial distribution of wax thickness, which was not captured by the traditional pressure drop and weighing methods. These experiments have led to an increased understanding of the mechanisms of wax deposition, which is needed to develop more-accurate models based on physical effects. These models are then the basis for a more accurate prediction of the rate of wax deposition in production lines. The main finding is that molecular diffusion is indeed the central mechanism that steers wax deposition but that an acc...