Laboratory and Modeling Investigation of Mineral Scale Deposition Kinetics

Abstract

In various industrial operations, deposition of mineral scale can result in a significant financial loss and seriously impair operational integrity and safety. Thus, the prevention and suppression of mineral scaling is of great importance to the soundness of these industrial operations. However, the traditional method of applying chemical inhibitors requires a considerable manpower and resources and poses safety risks. Recently, an attach-and-release strategy has been proposed to provide an alternative approach in applying chemical inhibitor for pipeline scale control in a more economical and safer manner. One benefit of this novel method is the ability to predict the actual efficiency of the chemical inhibitor as well as the effect of the scaling metal ions and flow rate on inhibitor release behavior. Moreover, this method can eliminate the continuous inhibitor injection, leading to an enhanced operational safety. This study comprehensively evaluates a number of physiochemical parameters on the attachment and release of scale inhibitors from pipeline inner surfaces. It was found that the formation of Ca-DTPMP solid can have a profound impact on both attachment and release of DTPMP from the pipe surfaces. Moreover, modeling efforts have been undertaken to obtain mechanistic understanding associated with the attachment and release processes. The results obtained from this study can promote the actual field application of this method for pipeline scaling control.