Occurrence and Characterization of Paraffin Wax Formed in Developing Wells and Pipelines

Marwa M. El-Dalatony, Byong-Hun Jeon, El-Sayed Salama, Mohamed Eraky, Won Beom Kim, Jihoon Wang and Taewoong Ahn
Additional contact information
Marwa M. El-Dalatony: Department of Earth Resources and Environmental Engineering, Hanyang University, Seoul 04763, Korea
Byong-Hun Jeon: Department of Earth Resources and Environmental Engineering, Hanyang University, Seoul 04763, Korea
El-Sayed Salama: Department of Occupational and Environmental Health, School of Public Health, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou 730000, Gansu, China
Mohamed Eraky: Environmental Biotechnology Department, City of Scientific Research and Technology Applications, New Borg El Arab City, Alexandria 21934, Egypt
Won Beom Kim: Research institute, Golden Engineering Co. Ltd., Seoul 05836, Korea
Jihoon Wang: Department of Petroleum and Natural Gas Engineering, New Mexico Tech, Socorro, NM 87801, USA
Taewoong Ahn: Petroleum and Marine Research Division, Korea Institute of Geoscience and Mineral Resources (KIGAM), Daejeon 34132, Korea

Energies, 2019, vol. 12, issue 6, 1-23

Abstract: Deposition and precipitation of paraffin wax in pipelines are major problems in the production, transfer, storage, and processing of crude oil. To prevent complete clogging, it is necessary to minimize and remove deposited wax in pipelines and tubing. Significant research has been done addressing the mechanisms of wax formation and its composition. In this review, the status of research and perspectives on the occurrence and characterization of the paraffin wax that forms in crude oil developing wells and pipelines has been critically reviewed. Several approaches for detecting paraffin wax and managing wax formation damage during oil recovery were discussed. This review also highlighted the effects of temperature and crude oil type on wax formation.

Keywords: waxy crude oil; micro- and macro-crystalline paraffin; wax appearance temperature (WAT); formation damage; saturates, aromatics, resins, and asphaltenes (SARA); rheological properties (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q Q0 Q4 Q40 Q41 Q42 Q43 Q47 Q48 Q49 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2019
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (5)

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