2024 AIChE Annual Meeting
(380u) Development of a Flow Loop System for Simulating Scale Formation and Evaluating Scale Kinetics in Oil and Gas Industry
Author
This study addresses the persistent challenge of scale deposition in the oil and gas industry, it investigates the scaling process deposition and dissolution kinetics in an effort to assess diverse scale dissolver performance ultimately. flow loop mimics scale formation experimentally, to provide refined insights into scale kinetics in different thermodynamic conditions. The goal is to fully comprehend scaling processes by experimentally controlling variables including flow rate, fluid concentration, temperature, pH, and brine content. Realistic conditions cannot be fully achievable in flow loop design. No model can match all real oil well conditions. Therefore the main focus should be directed to certain parameters that would represent a major interest to observers. All the flow loops that have been introduced before lacked the testing under high temperatures higher than 70 Degrees C. Our flow loop can operate at different conditions at high temperatures up to 100 degrees C. A carefully designed and assembled experimental flow loop successfully simulated the scaling process. This experimental setup consists of a 5-gallon PVC tank, a 1-meter-long test section made of stainless-steel pipe, a submersible pump with a 1/6-horsepower motor, two orifice valves before and after the test section, a submersible heating coil with a thermostat that can heat the fluid to 120 degrees Celsius, and thermometers and pressure gauges placed strategically throughout the system to measure the fluid's temperature and pressure at different points. The purpose of the experiment was to demonstrate how different factors and scale formation relate to one another. Systematic research is done to determine how flow rate, fluid concentration, temperature, pH, and brine content affect scale deposition. A several experiments have been successfully completed and proven effective in depositing Calcium Carbonate scale, and we're still working to make the procedure more efficient for longer run times. The results provided information about scale deposition and the effects of various temperatures on scale deposition that shows as the Temperature increase the deposited scale increases. To fully evaluate the scale deposited characteristics, X-ray diffraction (XRD), and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) analysis have been conducted to investigate the morphology of the deposited scale. We developed the experimental loop in a way to be fully customizable, and it works as a tool for further scale formation and mitigation research, with potential indications to improve pipeline operations and reduce economic burdens associated with scale deposition. Our Future research includes the investigation of dissolver mechanisms, how different additives affect the dissolver efficiency, environmental assessments, dissolver optimization under different conditions, and creating new dissolvers that maximize efficacy while minimizing environmental impact.