Electrochemically Enhanced Deposition of Scale from Chosen Formation Waters from the Norwegian Continental Shelf

Benjamin Udo Emmel, Kamila Maria Gawel, Mohammad Hossain Bhuiyan, Malin Torsæter and Laura Edvardsen
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Benjamin Udo Emmel: SINTEF Industry, 7465 Trondheim, Norway
Kamila Maria Gawel: SINTEF Industry, 7465 Trondheim, Norway
Mohammad Hossain Bhuiyan: SINTEF Industry, 7465 Trondheim, Norway
Malin Torsæter: SINTEF Industry, 7465 Trondheim, Norway
Laura Edvardsen: SINTEF Industry, 7465 Trondheim, Norway

Energies, 2022, vol. 15, issue 2, 1-13

Abstract: Reservoir formation waters typically contain scaling ions which can precipitate and form mineral deposits. Such mineral deposition can be accelerated electrochemically, whereby the application of potential between two electrodes results in oxygen reduction and water electrolysis. Both processes change the local pH near the electrodes and affect the surface deposition of pH-sensitive minerals. In the context of the plugging and abandonment of wells, electrochemically enhanced deposition could offer a cost-effective alternative to the established methods that rely on setting cement plugs. In this paper, we tested the scale electro-deposition ability of six different formation waters from selected reservoirs along the Norwegian continental shelf using two experimental setups, one containing CO 2 and one without CO 2 . As the electrochemical deposition of scaling minerals relies on local pH changes near the cathode, geochemical modelling was performed to predict oversaturation with respect to the different mineral phases at different pH values. In a CO 2 -free environment, the formation waters are mainly oversaturated with portlandite at pH > 12. When CO 2 was introduced to the system, the formation waters were oversaturated with calcite. The presence of mineral phases was confirmed by powder X-ray diffraction (XRD) analyses of the mineral deposits obtained in the laboratory experiments. The geochemical-modelling results indicate several oversaturated Mg-bearing minerals (e.g., brucite, dolomite, aragonite) in the formation waters but these, according to XRD results, were absent in the deposits, which is likely due to the significant domination of calcium-scaling ions in the solution. The amount of deposit was found to be proportional to the concentration of calcium present in the formation waters. Formation waters with a high concentration of Ca ions and a high conductivity yielded more precipitate.

Keywords: mineral scale; well plugging; electro-deposition; formation water (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: 2022
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