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Understanding Scale Inhibitors in Oilfields

Scale inhibitors are used to prevent mineral scale deposits from forming on oil and gas production equipment. Scaling occurs when mineral ions in production fluids become supersaturated and precipitate out. Common scales include barium, calcium, and strontium sulfates. Scale prevention is important to maintain continuous production. Inhibitors work by either reacting with scale-forming minerals to reach a thermodynamically stable state or suppressing crystal growth. Effective inhibitors adsorb to surfaces and block sites where crystals would normally nucleate and grow. Modern inhibitors come in oil-soluble and coated forms to overcome limitations of earlier water-soluble chemicals. The ideal inhibitor controls scale at low concentrations, is compatible with production fluids, has balanced adsorption

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200 views17 pages

Understanding Scale Inhibitors in Oilfields

Scale inhibitors are used to prevent mineral scale deposits from forming on oil and gas production equipment. Scaling occurs when mineral ions in production fluids become supersaturated and precipitate out. Common scales include barium, calcium, and strontium sulfates. Scale prevention is important to maintain continuous production. Inhibitors work by either reacting with scale-forming minerals to reach a thermodynamically stable state or suppressing crystal growth. Effective inhibitors adsorb to surfaces and block sites where crystals would normally nucleate and grow. Modern inhibitors come in oil-soluble and coated forms to overcome limitations of earlier water-soluble chemicals. The ideal inhibitor controls scale at low concentrations, is compatible with production fluids, has balanced adsorption

Uploaded by

Nihad S Zain
Copyright
© All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PPTX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
  • Title Page
  • Introduction to Scaling
  • Example of Scaling
  • Importance of Scale Prevention
  • Methods of Scale Inhibition
  • Types of Scale Inhibitors
  • Operational Mechanisms
  • Properties of Ideal Scale Inhibitors
  • Mathematical Models
  • References

Scale Inhibitor

Scaling is the deposition of a mineral


salt on processing equipment.
Scaling is a result
of supersaturation of mineral ions in
the process fluid.

Example
Sea water often reacts with the formation water in offshore fields to
produce
barium, calcium, and strontium sulfate deposits, which hinder oil
production. In
some fields, CaCO3 is a major problem.
In some regions, the formation water chemistry varies considerably
(Duccini
et al., 1997). For example, in the Central North Sea Province, levels
of barium
ions vary from a few mgl1 to gl1, and the pH varies from 4.4 to
7.5; a pH
as high as 11.7 has been measured. In the southern region of the
North Sea, the
waters have a high salinity and are rich in sulfate and acidic
compounds.

Importance of Scale
prevention
Scale prevention is important to
ensure continuous production from
existing reserves that produce brine.
Wells can be abandoned prematurely
because of poor management of
scale.

Inhibition can be achieved, either by


adding
substances that react with potential
scale-forming substances so that
thermodynamically,
a table region is reached, or by
adding substances that suppress
crystal growth.

Conventional scale inhibitors are


hydrophilic, i.e., they dissolve in
water.
To overcome these disadvantages,
oil-soluble and coated scale inhibitors
have been developed.

In the case of downhole squeezing,


the scale inhibitor should be
adsorbed on to the rock to prevent it
washing out before it can act as
desired, but this may change the
surface tension and the wettability of
the system.

To overcome these disadvantages,


oil-soluble and coated scale inhibitors
have been developed.

scale inhibitors are applied in combination


with corrosion inhibitors
Scale inhibitors can be classified into two
main groups:
Thermodynamic inhibitors ( complexing
and chelating agents, suitable for specific
scales)
Kinetic inhibitors (may be understood in
terms of stereospecific and nonspecific
mechanisms).

The scale inhibitor operates in two


ways :
1. Adsorption effects
2. Morphologic changes of the growing
sites.

Adsorption effects

The adsorption effects are caused by


the inhibitor molecules occupying
nucleation sites that are preferred by
the scale-forming molecules. Crystals
cannot find active places at which to
adhere to the surface, therefore
crystal
nucleation is prevented.

Morphologic changes of the growing


sites
that can prevent the formation of crystals in
the presence of the
inhibitor. Depending on the inhibitor
characteristics, and the nature of the
substrate,
it is possible for it to be adsorbed over the
crystalline net, forming
complex surfaces or nets, which have
difficulty remaining and growing in active
places.

The ideal scale inhibitor should have the


following properties
Effective scale control at low inhibitor
concentration,
Compatibility with sea and formation water,
Balanced adsorption-desorption properties,
allowing the chemicals to be
slowly and homogeneously released into the
production water,
High thermal stability,
Low toxicity and high biodegradability, and
Low cost.

MATHEMATICAL MODELS

References

An Introduction to Scaling
causes, problems and solutions
Margrethe Nergaard Chriss Grimholt
Trondheim, november 2010
Term

Scale Inhibitor
• Scaling is the deposition of a mineral salt on processing equipment. Scaling is a result • of supersaturation of mineral
Example • Sea water often reacts with the formation water in offshore fields to produce • barium, calcium, and strontium sul
Importance of Scale prevention • Scale prevention is important to ensure continuous production from existing reserves that
• Inhibition can be achieved, either by adding • substances that react with potential scale-forming substances so that the
• Conventional scale inhibitors are hydrophilic, i.e., they dissolve in water. • To overcome these disadvantages, oil-solu
• In the case of downhole squeezing, the scale inhibitor should be adsorbed on to the rock to prevent it washing out befor
• To overcome these disadvantages, oil-soluble and coated scale inhibitors have been developed.
• scale inhibitors are applied in combination with corrosion inhibitors • Scale inhibitors can be classified into two main

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