A New Method for Predicting Wall Sticking Occurrence Temperature of High Water Cut Crude Oil

In crude oil transportation, adhesion of oil on pipe wall can cause partial or total blockage of the pipe. This process is significantly affected by wall sticking occurrence temperature(WSOT). In this work, an efficient approach for estimating WSOT of high water-cut oil, which can agree well with the actual environment of multiphase transportation pipeline, is proposed. Based on the energy dissipation theory, it is possible to make comparison of average shear rates between the stirred vessel and the flow loop. The impacts of water content and shear rate on WSOT are investigated using the stirred vessel and the flow loop. Good agreement has been observed between the stirred vessel and the flow loop results with the maximum and the average absolute deviations equating to 3.30 °C and 2.18 °C, respectively. The development of gathering scheme can enjoy some benefits from this method.

Wall Sticking of High Water-Cut, Highly Viscous and High Gel-Point Crude Oil Transported at Low Temperatures

Some crude oils with high water cut have the capability to flow below the oil gel point, while the oil particles adhere to the pipe wall in the form of paste, also called "wall sticking". Wall sticking is a serious problem during the pipeline transportation, leading to partial or total blockage of the pipeline and energy wastage. In this paper, a series of laboratory flow loop experiments were conducted to observe the wall sticking characteristics of crude oil with high water cut, high viscosity and high gel point at low transportation temperatures. The effects of shear stress and water cut on the wall sticking rate and occurrence temperature were investigated. Experimental results indicated that the wall sticking rate and occurrence temperature were lower under stronger shear stress and higher water cut conditions. A criterion of wall sticking occurrence temperature(WSOT) and a regression model of wall sticking rate were then established. Finally, the software was developed to calculate the pressure drop along the pipelines of crude oils with high water-cut. It was able to predict the wall sticking thickness of gelled oil and then calculate the pressure drop along the pipelines. A typical case study indicated that the prediction results obtained from the software were in agreement with actual measured values.

Influence of Oil and Water Components on Wall-sticking Occurrence Temperature in High Water-cut Crude Oil Pipeline

To study the wall-sticking phenomenon and prevent pipeline blockage accidents,two analytical methods are used to evaluate the influence of different crude oil components on the wall-sticking occurrence temperature(WSOT).The WSOT and the interactions among oil,water,and surface solids are measured and calculated by various devices under different values of the wax content,water pH,and salinity.The results show that there is greater correlation between the wax content and WSOT than between resins/asphaltenes and WSOT.Furthermore,the wax content,water pH,and salinity have different effects on WSOT.There is generally a positive correlation between wax content and WSOT,whereas the maximum WSOT occurs when the water pH is in the range 5.7–6.5,and decreases under more acidic or alkaline conditions.As the salinity increases,WSOT decreases slightly,but quickly becomes saturated.In terms of interactions,variations in the interfacial tension and adhesion work with pH and salinity are consistent with that of WSOT,while the contact angle exhibits the opposite relation.

Optimization of drying conditions and components to reduce wall sticking during spray drying of infant formula milk

Wall sticking,which greatly reduces productivity and product quality,has been a big challenge of spray drying.Structure of drying tower and atomizer,as well as drying conditions are the main influencing factors.This research explored the possibility to reduce wall sticking by optimizing drying conditions and components to obtain higher recovery rate of powdered infant formula milk(PIFM).Response surface experimental results indicated that inlet air temperature(T),feed concentration(C),feeding speed(S),as well as interaction term of TC and quadratic terms of C^(2) and S^(2) had significant influences on recovery rate for determined milk formula.According to mixture experiments at optimized drying conditions,whey protein(P),fat(F)and lactose(L)contents,as well as interaction term FL had significant effects on recovery rate.Positive effects were observed for F and L contents on recovery rate,while negative effects were observed for P and FL.Under the optimized drying condition of 136℃,19.80%and 4.07 mL/min,respectively,for T,C and S,the maximum recovery rate of 58.98%was obtained for PIFM with P,F and L content of 18%,31%and 51%,respectively.Wall sticking phenomena could be reduced by optimizing drying conditions and mildly adjusting components of infant formula milk.