SiO 2 -Based Nanofluids for the Inhibition of Wax Precipitation in Production Pipelines.

Autor: López D; Grupo de Investigación en Fenómenos de Superficie-Michael Polanyi, Departamento de Procesos y Energía, Facultad de Minas, Universidad Nacional de Colombia, Sede Medellín, Medellín 050034, Colombia., Ríos AA; Grupo de Investigación en Fenómenos de Superficie-Michael Polanyi, Departamento de Procesos y Energía, Facultad de Minas, Universidad Nacional de Colombia, Sede Medellín, Medellín 050034, Colombia., Marín JD; Departamento de Ingeniería, Gerencia de Desarrollo y Producción, Vicepresidencia Piedemonte, Ecopetrol SA CPF Floreña, Yopal, Piedecuesta 681011, Colombia., Zabala RD; Departamento de Tecnologías de Producción, Gerencia Centro Técnico de Desarrollo, Gerencia General de Desarrollo, Ecopetrol S.A, Bogotá 1021, Colombia., Rincon JA; Centro de Innovación y Tecnología ECOPETROL ICP, Km 7 via Piedecuesta, Bogota 1021, Colombia., Lopera SH; Grupo de Investigación en Yacimientos de Hidrocarburos, Departamento de Procesos y Energía, Facultad de Minas, Universidad Nacional de Colombia, Sede Medellín, Medellín 050034, Colombia., Franco CA; Grupo de Investigación en Fenómenos de Superficie-Michael Polanyi, Departamento de Procesos y Energía, Facultad de Minas, Universidad Nacional de Colombia, Sede Medellín, Medellín 050034, Colombia., Cortés FB; Grupo de Investigación en Fenómenos de Superficie-Michael Polanyi, Departamento de Procesos y Energía, Facultad de Minas, Universidad Nacional de Colombia, Sede Medellín, Medellín 050034, Colombia.
Jazyk: angličtina
Zdroj: ACS omega [ACS Omega] 2023 Sep 08; Vol. 8 (37), pp. 33289-33298. Date of Electronic Publication: 2023 Sep 08 (Print Publication: 2023).
DOI: 10.1021/acsomega.3c00802
Abstrakt: Wax deposition in high-wax (waxy) crude oil has been an important challenge in the oil and gas industry due to the repercussions in flow assurance during oil extraction and transportation. However, the nanotechnology has emerged as a potential solution for the optimization of conventional wax removal and/or inhibition processes due to its exceptional performance in the alteration of wax morphology and co-crystallization behavior. In this sense, this study aims to study the performance of two commercial wax inhibitor treatments (WT1 and WT2) on the wax formation and crystallization due to the addition of SiO 2 nanoparticles. Differential scanning calorimetry experiments and cold finger tests were carried out to study the effect of the WT on wax appearance temperature (WAT) and the wax inhibition efficiency (WIE) in a scenario with an initial temperature difference. In the first stage, the behavior of both WT in the inhibition of wax deposition was achieved, ranging in the concentration of the WT in the waxy crude (WC) oil from 5000 to 50,000 mg·L -1 . Then, NanoWT was prepared by the addition of SiO 2 nanoparticles on WT1 and WT2 for concentrations between 1000 and 500 mg·L -1 , and the performance of the prepared NanoWT was studied at the best concentration of WIT in the absence of nanoparticles. Finally, the role of the nanofluid concentration in wax inhibition was accomplished for the best NanoWT. Selected NanoWT with nanoparticle dosage of 100 mg·L -1 added to WC oil at 5000 mg·L -1 displays reductions in WAT and WIE of 15.3 and 71.6 for NanoWT1 and -2.2 and 42.5% for NanoWT2. In flow loop experiments for the crude oil at temperatures above (30 °C) and below (16 °C), the WAT value indicates an increase of 8.3 times the pressure drops when the crude oil is flowing at a temperature below the WAT value. Therefore, when NanoWT1 is added to the crude oil, a reduction of 31.8% was found in the pressure drop in comparison with the scenario below the WAT value, ensuring the flow assurance in the pipeline in an unfavorable environment. Based on the pressure-drop method, a reduction greater than 5% in the wax deposit thickness confirms the wax deposition inhibitory character of the designed NanoWT.
Competing Interests: The authors declare no competing financial interest.
(© 2023 The Authors. Published by American Chemical Society.)
Databáze: MEDLINE
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