The Physical Chemistry of Wax, Hydrates, and Asphaltene

摘要

Wax, hydrates, and asphaltenes are the three major threats to flow assurance that must be assessed by design teams. These potential problems can dramatically change system selection and operational procedures. If one of them is discovered after the system is under construction or worse after first oil then the whole project may be at risk. Each solid must be well understood by engineers so they can neutralize the threats to system uptime that result from poor solids management. This paper focuses on the problems posed by, and the system implications of, wax, hydrates, and asphaltenes.