Pigging is recognized as one of the most used techniques for removing wax deposits in pipelines. In an earlier paper, the mechanics of wax removal was studied using an experimental setup under dry conditions, i.e., no oil presence. In this study, the pigging experiments are conducted for both regular disk and by-pass disk pigs under flowing conditions. A new test facility was designed and constructed. The test section is 6.1 m (20 ft) long schedule 40 steel pipe with an inner diameter of 0.0762 m (3 in.). A mixture of commercial wax and mineral oil is cast inside the spool pieces for different wax thicknesses and oil contents. The wax breaking and plug transportation forces are investigated separately. The results indicated that the wax breaking force increases as wax thickness increases, and the wax plug transportation force gradient is independent of the wax plug length. In comparison to previous test results, the presence of oil reduced the wax plug transportation force. Experimental results also showed that the wax transport behavior of the by-pass pig is significantly different than that of the regular pig. The by-pass pig allows the oil to flow through the by-pass holes and mobilizes the removed wax in front of the pig resulting in no discernible wax accumulation in front of the pig. Therefore, no measurable transportation force was observed for the by-pass pig tests.
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December 2008
Research Papers
An Experimental Study on Wax Removal in Pipes With Oil Flow
Qian Wang,
Qian Wang
The University of Tulsa
, 600 South College Avenue, Tulsa, OK 74104
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Cem Sarica,
Cem Sarica
The University of Tulsa
, 600 South College Avenue, Tulsa, OK 74104
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Michael Volk
Michael Volk
The University of Tulsa
, 600 South College Avenue, Tulsa, OK 74104
Search for other works by this author on:
Qian Wang
The University of Tulsa
, 600 South College Avenue, Tulsa, OK 74104
Cem Sarica
The University of Tulsa
, 600 South College Avenue, Tulsa, OK 74104
Michael Volk
The University of Tulsa
, 600 South College Avenue, Tulsa, OK 74104J. Energy Resour. Technol. Dec 2008, 130(4): 043001 (5 pages)
Published Online: November 6, 2008
Article history
Received:
February 15, 2008
Revised:
September 23, 2008
Published:
November 6, 2008
Citation
Wang, Q., Sarica, C., and Volk, M. (November 6, 2008). "An Experimental Study on Wax Removal in Pipes With Oil Flow." ASME. J. Energy Resour. Technol. December 2008; 130(4): 043001. https://doi.org/10.1115/1.3000136
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