Contents

Introduction (2000):............................................................................................... 2
Introduction:....................................................................................................... 2
Background:....................................................................................................... 2
Market:............................................................................................................... 2
Transportation Operations:.................................................................................2
Prevention & Control:......................................................................................... 2
Objectives:.......................................................................................................... 2
Structure:........................................................................................................... 2
Literature Review (2000):...................................................................................... 3
Introduction:....................................................................................................... 3
Crude Oil:........................................................................................................... 3
Wax:................................................................................................................... 3
Prevention Methods:........................................................................................... 3
PCM:................................................................................................................... 3
Wax Deposition (1000):......................................................................................... 3
Introduction:....................................................................................................... 3
Current control & Prevention (1000):.....................................................................3
Introduction:....................................................................................................... 3
PCM (1000):........................................................................................................... 3
Introduction:....................................................................................................... 3
Experiment (1000):................................................................................................ 4
Introduction:....................................................................................................... 4
Methodology:...................................................................................................... 4
Results:............................................................................................................... 4
Discussion (2000):................................................................................................. 4
Results Analysis:................................................................................................. 4
Conclusion (1000):................................................................................................. 4
Conclusion:......................................................................................................... 4
Future Work (500):................................................................................................. 4
Balance:.............................................................................................................. 4

A study into the prevention and

control of the precipitation and
deposition of Paraffin Wax solids
in subsea Petroleum pipelines.
Contents & Areas of Research
Introduction (2000):
Introduction:

Introduction to thesis.

Background:

Formation process
History/discovery of crude oil and previous uses

Current Global & UK Market for crude oil

global leaders & scale of industry
Global & UK need for crude oil

Market:

Transportation Operations:

Locations/method of sourcing pockets

Brief outline of areas of transportation from ground to
application
Other areas potentially effected by impurities e.g.
upstream/downstream

Prevention & Control:

Identify need for efficient, economically viable solutions e.g.

highlight costs.
Current methods used (critically analysed in literature review)
Introduce PCM as a potential prevention method following
experimental procedures.

Objectives:

Outline objects of thesis

Mechanisms expected to encounter e.g. convection
currents/heat transfer through a wall/pipe wall as further
development of thesis
potential application of study

Structure:

Structure of the thesis

Literature Review (2000):

Introduction:

Brief introduction to the literature review;

Why this section is necessary
Areas of research and relevance

Crude Oil:

Composition of crude oil

Impurities
Effects of impurities e.g. hydrate formation
Interaction between impurities e.g. effects on chain bonds

Composition (Background)
Precipitation/Deposition (generally accepted theories to
further explore)
Problems caused by wax

Wax:

Prevention Methods:

List of prevention and control methods in practice today

Analysis of their success
Critical analysis of their effectiveness & efficiency
Current research projects not yet used in industry
Gaps in research that have not yet been entertained as
potential prevention and control methods i.e. introduce PCM

PCM properties
PCM applications in use (Draw upon Patent of application
found)
Similarities of current prevention & control/experimental
techniques to PCM
Differences of current prevention & control/experimental
techniques to PCM

PCM:

Wax Deposition (1000):

Introduction:

Introduction to wax

Current control & Prevention (1000):

Introduction:

Introduction
Analysis following literature review

PCM (1000):
Introduction:

Introduction

Experiment (1000):
Introduction:

Introduction

Methodology:

Outline

Results:

Results from experiment

Discussion (2000):
Results Analysis:

Discussion of results
Importance
Relevance to project

Conclusion (1000):
Conclusion:

Summary of Discussion
Feasibility of application for PCM as insulation

Future Work (500):

Balance:

Introduce areas of future work/projects

Key words
1. intermolecular interaction
2. asphaltenes
3. occluded oil
4. wax crystallization/precipitation
5. gelation mechanism
6. yield stress
7. High concentrations of asphaltenes
8. macroscopic phase separation
9. paraffins
10. The gelation temperature is the temperature where enough solid wax has precipitated that the fluid exhibits a yield
stress using a controlled stress rheometer

11. Particle morphology and mixiture rheology

12. cold flow
13. Pigging technologies
14. commercial implementation
15. thermal management
16. In-situ heat and gas generation methods
17. exothermic reaction
18. Chemical injection
19. wax/hydrate mitigation strategy
20. mitigating
21. flocculated
22. wax crystallization
23. wax precipitation
24. flocculated asphaltenes
25. crystal inhibition mechanism
26. maleic anydride crystal modifier.
27. crystal growth rates
28. fundamental driving force of crystallization
29. activity of supersatrurated solutions
30. expressions derived from thermodynamic concentration differences.
31. "cold pipe-cold oil"
32.Deposition is believed to occur as a result of lateral transport by diffusion,
shear dispersion, and Brownian diffusion.
33. n-paraffin molecular weight distribution "hot oil (above WPT) - Cold Pipe (Below WPT)". wax deposition under these
conditions appears to be driven by thermal mass transfer as pure diffusive flux could not provide the amount of
deposits obtained during the short testing times (diffusion coefficients are very small), and increases in fluid velocity
(provided by a stirrer in the fluid chamber) were observed to decrease the amount of paraffin deposition. One final
note is that "no flow" testing with the stirrer off produced the same type of deposits - and this was attributed to higher
temperature gradients in the no flow condition.
34. nucleation and subsequent crystal growth of solid wax in crude oil with the Avrami Model

35. wax deposition under these conditions appears to be driven by thermal mass transfer as pure diffusive flux could not
provide the amount of deposits obtained during the short testing times (diffusion coefficients are very small), and
increases in fluid velocity (provided by a stirrer in the fluid chamber) were observed to decrease the amount of
paraffin deposition.
36. "no flow" testing with the stirrer off produced the same type of deposits - and this was attributed to higher temperature
gradients in the no flow condition.
37. problems with many cloud point (aka WPT, WAT, etc.) measurement techniques,

38.