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Effect of flow and physical parameters on the wax deposition of Middle East crude oil under subsea condition: heat transfer viewpoint

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Abstract

Change in pressure, temperature, flow rate and concentration of oil causes precipitation and deposition of wax particles in the pipelines which has become a major problem for oil industries. By decreasing the capacity and economic efficiency of land oil reserves, demand for offshore reserves increases. Change in temperature in subsea pipelines is more possible and so the wax deposition happens under this condition more. Low water temperature and subsea condition change overall heat transfer coefficient and heat transfer rate in pipe cross-section which affects the wax transportation from bulk fluid to the wall. In this study, the effects of temperature, flow rate and oil characteristic in different pipeline diameters on Middle East oil which covers the most oil reserves of the world have been investigated under Persian Gulf water condition. Higher inlet temperature postpone the wax deposition to far locations and higher flow rate causes lower wax thickness in first stages of pipe and higher wax thickness after passing the first stage.

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Abbreviations

mi (kg):

Mass of deposited wax

ρw (kg/m3):

Density of solid wax

A (m3):

Internal surface area of pipe

r (m):

Radial distance

Db (m2/s):

Brownian coefficient diffusion

μ (cp):

Viscosity of solution

\( \partial_{i} \;({\text{m}}) \) :

Wax layer thickness

C1, C2, C3 :

Constants

Nsr (−):

Number related to flow regime

\( \Uppi_{1} \) (−):

Increase in wax thickness due to oil deposition

Tbulk (K):

Temperature of bulk

U (W/m2 K):

Overall heat transfer coefficient

Twall(K):

Wall temperature

T∞ (K):

Infinitive temperature

Cwall (kg/m3):

Concentration of wall

Φb :

Association parameter of solution

μb (cp):

Viscosity of liquid

g (m2/s):

Acceleration due to gravity

WAP (K):

Wax cloud point temp

WDT (K):

Wax dissolution temperature

ρ° (kg/m3):

Oil density

μ°, f (kg/m s):

Oil viscosity

Vl (m/s):

Liquid velocity

t (s):

Time

d (m2/s):

Diffusion coefficient of liquid wax in oil

C (kg/m3):

Concentration of wax in oil

mb (kg):

Mass of diffused wax by Brownian motion

Ta (K):

Temperature of particles

a (m):

Diameter of solid particles

ww (−):

Wax weight fraction in solution

Coil (kg/m3):

Concentration of oil in solution

Z (m):

Axial coordination

\( \Uppi_{2} \) (−):

Reduction in wax thickness due to shear stripping

Tinf (K):

Temperature of interface

Cp (J/kg K):

Heat capacity

hint (W/m2 K):

Internal convective heat transfer coefficient

Cbulk (kg/m3):

Concentration of bulk

G (kg/s):

Mass transfer rate

Mb (g/mol):

Molecular weight of liquid

Va (m3/mol):

Solute specific molar volume

Cwax,TWS (kg/m3):

Concentration of wax at wall temperature

TWS (K):

Wall surface temperature

N (1/mol):

Avogadro number

V° (m/s):

Oil velocity

ρm (kg/m3):

Average density of gas–oil mixture

DISSOLRATE (kg/m2 s):

Rate of dissolution

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Chemical Engineering, Amirkabir University of Technology (Tehran Polytechnic), Hafez Avenue, Tehran, Iran

    Reza Gooya & Bahram Dabir

  2. Department of Mechanical Engineering, Amirkabir University of Technology (Tehran Polytechnic), Hafez Avenue, Tehran, Iran

    Mehdy Gooya

Authors
  1. Reza Gooya
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  2. Mehdy Gooya
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  3. Bahram Dabir
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Correspondence to Bahram Dabir.

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Gooya, R., Gooya, M. & Dabir, B. Effect of flow and physical parameters on the wax deposition of Middle East crude oil under subsea condition: heat transfer viewpoint. Heat Mass Transfer 49, 1205–1216 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00231-013-1159-2

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00231-013-1159-2

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