REDUCTION OF DEPOSIT OF SOLID SULFUR DURING RECOVERY OF NATURAL GAS BY VULCANIZATION OF SULFUR ONTO SURFACE FUNCTIONALIZED SILICA NANOPARTICLES

摘要

A method to reduce the deposition of solid sulfur (Ss(s)) in a natural gas producing well includes the steps of operating a natural gas production field comprising one or more natural gas production wells with each well containing a tubing string of connected pipes that allow gas to travel from a reservoir to the surface, then introducing a carrier fluid comprising surface modified silica nanoparticles into the tubing string, then contacting the surface modified silica nanoparticles with the gaseous sulfur (Ss(g)) present in the gas resulting in a vulcanization chemical reaction that causes the reduction of the deposition of solid sulfur (Ss(s)). The surface modified silica nanoparticles are silica, alumina and/or silica-aluminate. The surface modified silica nanoparticles have a surface modification which is accomplished by coating the silica nanoparticles with items selected from the group consisting of allylic hydrogen substrates, cationic activators, co-activators, and accelerators.