Rotating cylinder technique for assessing the effectiveness of anti-sealants

摘要

A novel technique for evaluating the relative inhibition effectiveness of different anti-sealants is presented. The technique is based on the ability of anti-sealants to modify the scale deposition mechanism from mass transfer control to surface control. A rotating cylinder system which is known to provide well controlled mass transfer conditions is used to determine the scaling rate of a supersaturated solution dosed with various feed concentrations of an anti-sealant. Mass transfer conditions were characterized by turbulent flow at hydrodynamically smooth surface. In the absence of an anti-sealant, scale deposition is mass transfer controlled and scaling rate increases with rotation speed. With sufficient anti-sealant dosage, precipitation is modified to surface control and rotation speed has no effect on the scale deposition rate. Determination of the critical anti-sealant dosage enabling surface controlled precipitation provides a sensitive technique for comparing the relative effectiveness of different anti-sealants.