An Investigation of Solids Deposition from Two-Phase Wax–Solvent–Water Mixtures
| atmire.migration.oldid | 2148 | |
| dc.contributor.advisor | Mehrotra, Anil Kumar | |
| dc.contributor.author | Kasumu, Adebola Sadiq | |
| dc.date.accessioned | 2014-05-05T19:47:31Z | |
| dc.date.available | 2014-06-16T07:00:40Z | |
| dc.date.issued | 2014-05-05 | |
| dc.date.submitted | 2014 | en |
| dc.description.abstract | This study presents an investigation of the thermophysical behaviour and deposition tendency of “waxy” mixtures, with and without the addition of water as a liquid phase. In the first part, the wax precipitation temperature (WPT) of several compositions of a multi-component waxy mixture (comprising a multi-component paraffinic wax dissolved in a multi-component solvent) was measured at controlled cooling rates. Results indicated that the WPT of a waxy mixture is not a constant property, as it varied with the cooling rate. Experimental results were used to express the WPT as a function of the cooling rate and mixture composition. With the WPT being dependent on the cooling rate, it may not correspond to the thermodynamic liquidus temperature for the liquid-to-solid phase transformation process. The deposition of solids from single-phase and two-phase waxy mixtures (second phase being water) was studied using two different experimental apparatuses. A flow-loop apparatus was used to study the effects of water content, wax mixture and coolant temperatures, and flow rate, in two-phase waxy mixtures flowing under turbulent flow conditions. A cold finger apparatus was used to further investigate the effects of time and stirring rate on wax deposition in single-phase waxy mixtures, and the effect of water content in two-phase waxy mixtures. In both sets of experiments, the water content of the deposit was found to be not related to the water content of the waxy mixture. The deposit mass (on a water-free basis) decreased with an increase in Reynolds number, the mixture temperature, and/or the coolant temperature. The deposit mass both increased and decreased with the water content of the waxy mixture, depending on the deposition time. Results showed the solids deposition from waxy mixtures to be a fast process; for example, 56% of the deposition process in the cold-finger experiments was completed in 0.07% of the time to reach steady-state. The deposition data were analyzed with a steady-state heat-transfer model, which also indicated that the liquid–deposit interface temperature was close to the wax appearance temperature (WAT) of the waxy mixture. The predictions from a transient heat-transfer model, based on the moving boundary formulation, matched satisfactorily the effect of time on the deposition process in the cold-finger experiments. Overall, the results of this study confirm that the deposition process from waxy mixtures is a relatively very fast process, and is primarily thermally-driven. | en_US |
| dc.identifier.citation | Kasumu, A. S. (2014). An Investigation of Solids Deposition from Two-Phase Wax–Solvent–Water Mixtures (Doctoral thesis, University of Calgary, Calgary, Canada). Retrieved from https://prism.ucalgary.ca. doi:10.11575/PRISM/24916 | en_US |
| dc.identifier.doi | http://dx.doi.org/10.11575/PRISM/24916 | |
| dc.identifier.uri | http://hdl.handle.net/11023/1501 | |
| dc.language.iso | eng | |
| dc.publisher.faculty | Graduate Studies | |
| dc.publisher.institution | University of Calgary | en |
| dc.publisher.place | Calgary | en |
| dc.rights | University of Calgary graduate students retain copyright ownership and moral rights for their thesis. You may use this material in any way that is permitted by the Copyright Act or through licensing that has been assigned to the document. For uses that are not allowable under copyright legislation or licensing, you are required to seek permission. | |
| dc.subject | Engineering--Chemical | |
| dc.subject | Engineering--Environmental | |
| dc.subject | Engineering--Petroleum | |
| dc.subject.classification | two-phase wax deposition | en_US |
| dc.subject.classification | flow assurance | en_US |
| dc.subject.classification | cooling rate | en_US |
| dc.subject.classification | flow loop | en_US |
| dc.subject.classification | cold finger | en_US |
| dc.subject.classification | wax precipitation temperature | en_US |
| dc.subject.classification | steady state heat transfer model | en_US |
| dc.subject.classification | transient heat transfer model | en_US |
| dc.title | An Investigation of Solids Deposition from Two-Phase Wax–Solvent–Water Mixtures | |
| dc.type | doctoral thesis | |
| thesis.degree.discipline | Chemical and Petroleum Engineering | |
| thesis.degree.grantor | University of Calgary | |
| thesis.degree.name | Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) | |
| ucalgary.item.requestcopy | true |