Design of novel chemical solvent for treatment of waxy crude
by Shirsendu Banerjee; Sunil Kumar; Ajay Mandal; Tarun Kumar Naiya
International Journal of Oil, Gas and Coal Technology (IJOGCT), Vol. 15, No. 4, 2017

Abstract: Deposited wax in pipelines and well bores are not easily recoverable due to its solidification over time. This is responsible for losses in production. In this paper, chemical solvent derived from laboratory was used to recover the solidified wax. Twelve chemical solvents and three commercial dispersants were mixed in different volumetric proportions to study their solubility effect on waxy crude oil. Optimised solvent mixture capable of dissolving wax material was used on a laboratory prototype experiment to measure the recovery of deposited wax at different temperatures (pour point of crude oil to 90°C). Optimum composition of solvent was based on its toxicity, flammability, availability and other contributing factors like cost and recoverability. The formulated solvent dissolved about 72% and 83% wax after three hours and six hours of soaking time respectively at 25°C. Results implied that formulated solvent have immense potential to recover solidified wax in wellbores and in pipelines. [Received: January 10, 2016; Accepted: March 13, 2016]

Online publication date: Fri, 30-Jun-2017

The full text of this article is only available to individual subscribers or to users at subscribing institutions.

 
Existing subscribers:
Go to Inderscience Online Journals to access the Full Text of this article.

Pay per view:
If you are not a subscriber and you just want to read the full contents of this article, buy online access here.

Complimentary Subscribers, Editors or Members of the Editorial Board of the International Journal of Oil, Gas and Coal Technology (IJOGCT):
Login with your Inderscience username and password:

Username:        Password:          Forgotten your password?

Want to subscribe?
A subscription gives you complete access to all articles in the current issue, as well as to all articles in the previous three years (where applicable). See our Orders page to subscribe.

If you still need assistance, please email subs@inderscience.com