Models for wax deposition in pipelines

Thermodynamic models for wax precipitation describes a number of models to calculate the
amount of solid wax precipitated as a function of pressure, temperature, and fluid composition.
Wax precipitation does not necessarily lead to solid deposition. Thermodynamic models for
solid/liquid K values have been coupled with models for wax deposition in pipelines. The form
of these models is discussed briefly in this section.

Conditions for wax deposition

For deposition to occur in pipelines, the following conditions must be fulfilled.[1]

 Pipeline wall temperature must be below the wax appearance temperature (WAT) for the fluid.
 Negative radial temperature gradient must be present in the flow. That is, the wall temperature
must be lower than the centerline temperature. A zero gradient implies that no deposition will
occur.
 Wall friction must be large enough so that wax crystals can stick to the wall.

Physical processes

Burger et al.[2] investigated the significant physical processes leading to wax deposition in
pipelines. These processes are:

 Molecular diffusion
 Brownian diffusion
 Shear dispersion
 Gravity settling

Brownian movement of small solid-wax crystals will result in diffusion-like transport of these
particles when a concentration gradient exists. This effect is normally neglected in pipeline
deposition models. Gravity settling can occur because precipitated wax crystals are denser than
the surrounding liquid. Again, this effect is usually neglected in flow models. Molecular
diffusion and shear dispersion are described below,[3] assuming that the three deposition
conditions have been satisfied.

Molecular diffusion

Flow in pipes will be laminar or will have a laminar sublayer adjacent to the pipe wall. There
will be a temperature gradient across this sublayer with the lower temperature at the pipe wall.
When the temperature is below the WAT, the flowing oil will contain precipitated solid wax,
which is in equilibrium with the liquid. Because the temperature is colder toward the wall, more
of the wax components will exist in the solid phase at equilibrium. This results in a concentration
gradient in the liquid phase with a lower concentration of wax-forming components at the pipe
wall. Wax molecules will be transported toward the wall by molecular diffusion. Once these
molecules reach the solid/liquid interface, they are available to be added to the solid deposit by
the mechanisms of crystal growth. The equation describing the rate of mass transport caused by
molecular diffusion is

....................(1)

where:

 mi = mass of component i
 t = time
 ρoil = mass density of oil
 Di = effective diffusion coefficient for component i
 A = deposition area
 wi = weight fraction of component i
 r = radial distance

Because the radial-concentration gradient is not readily available, the chain rule is used in Eq. 1
to express this as the product of the mass-concentration (weight fraction) gradient with respect to
temperature and the temperature gradient. The mass-concentration gradient is derived from the
solubility limit as a function of temperature obtained from a thermodynamic model.

Shear dispersion

When suspended solid particles are being transported in a fluid in the laminar-flow regime, they
tend to travel with the mean speed and direction of the fluid. Particles have higher velocities at
greater distances from the pipe wall, and the particles also rotate as they flow. These rotating
particles will exert drag forces, causing displacement of the flow paths of any neighboring
particles. When the particle concentration is high, these interactions result in net transport of
particles toward the low-velocity region at the pipe wall.

Considering all the wax forming components together as a single wax pseudocomponent, the rate
of mass transport of wax caused by shear dispersion takes the form

....................(2)

where:

 mw = mass of wax
 k* = empirical constant
 Cw = concentration of precipitated wax at the wall
 γ = shear rate

The form of this equation shows that the deposition rate increases linearly with increasing shear
rate.
Weingarten and Euchner[4] reported results of diffusion and shear-deposition experiments and
modeling with Eqs. 1 and 2. They note that shear rate also has an important effect that is not
related to shear transport. Pieces of deposited wax can be dislodged from the pipe wall in a
process called sloughing. Sloughing will be dependent on the shear rate, the nature of the
deposit, and the nature of the wall surface. Sloughing occurs when the wall shear rate exceeds
the shear strength of the deposit and may occur both in the laminar and turbulent flow regimes.

Modeling wax deposition

Keating and Wattenbarger[5] also have used the diffusion and shear-deposition equations in
conjunction with a wellbore simulator to model wax deposition and removal in wellbores. Wax
removal is caused by equilibrium conditions, not explicit modeling of the sloughing process. A
study isolating and comparing the relative effects of molecular diffusion and shear dispersion on
wax deposition concludes that molecular diffusion is the dominant effect.[6] Majeed et al.[7]
obtained good results modeling wax deposition in pipelines considering only the diffusive
transport.

A detailed compositional wax-deposition model for pipelines has been derived by combining the
differential equations of mass and energy conservation and the laws of diffusion with a
thermodynamic model for solid/liquid K values of the form given in Eq. 2.[1] These mass and
heat-transfer relations also have been applied with the multisolid-wax model by Ramirez-
Jaramillo et al.[8]

Nomenclature
A = deposition area, L2

Cw = concentration of precipitated wax at the wall, m/m

Di = effective diffusion coefficient for component i, L2/t

k* = empirical constant for mass transport of wax caused by shear dispersion

mi = mass of component i, m

mw = mass of wax, m

r = radial distance, L

t = time, t

wi = weight fraction of component i, m/m

ρo = mass density of oil, m/L3

γ = shear rate, L/t

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