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Obstruction of pipelines due to paraffin deposition during the flow of crude oils

1997; Elsevier BV; Volume: 40; Issue: 18 Linguagem: Inglês

10.1016/s0017-9310(97)00082-3

1879-2189

Flávio S. Ribeiro, Paulo R. de Souza Mendes, Sérgio Leal Braga,

Hydrocarbon exploration and reservoir analysis

Heavy hydrocarbons tend to precipitate off waxy crude oils as they flow through tubes. The precipitated paraffin deposits on the tube inner wall, narrowing the flow passage and eventually reducing drastically the rate of flow. A simple theory that gives the thickness of deposited layer as a function of axial position and time is presented. Experiments were carried out in order to validate the theoretical model. Results are presented in the form of time evolution of axial distributions of pressure, temperature and layer thickness. It is shown that the simple model is capable of predicting the correct order of magnitude of important engineering quantities such as pressure and flow rates as functions of time.