Revista de Petróleo y Biotecnología Ambiental

Abstracto

Evaluation of Local Inhibitor for Waxy Crude Oil in Horizontal Flow line

Solomon Williams*, Osokogwu Uche

One of the most outstanding flow assurance problems is wax deposition. In other to prevent wax deposition in flow lines, wax inhibitors are utilized. This study evaluates local wax inhibitors on waxy crude oil in horizontal flow line by utilizing agricultural waste as materials for production of wax inhibitors. Orange peel and soya bean husk were sourced and prepared and chemical method of extracting solvents’ (soxhlet extractor), was used to extract oil from the prepared orange and soya bean husk. The Orange Peel oil (OP) and the Soya Bean Husk oil (SBH) were applied on the waxy crude oil samples A and B obtained from a field in Niger Delta. The effect of OP and SBH on Wax Appearance Temperature (WAT) of the waxy crude oil samples were investigated using viscosity profile curve obtained from viscometer readings. The results of the experiment showed that OP had better results in WAT for waxy crude oil samples A and B. For comparative purpose, toluene was used as waxy inhibitor and, the result revealed that OP and toluene had the best ability to inhibit the waxy crude oil. However OP which performed better than SBH could be a good substitute for chemical wax inhibitor.