Impact of Solvent Treatments for Asphaltenes on Wax Deposition and an Efficient Alternative with Green Surfactants

Abstract

Asphaltenes and waxes can precipitate and deposit in reservoirs, wells and equipment increasing production and operation costs. Previous studies showed the co-precipitation of these heavy organic compounds under field conditions and that the chemical treatment for one fraction can affect the deposition mechanism of the other fraction. These facts led to a key question: Can solvents that are normally used for asphaltenes remediations affect wax deposition? In this paper, we dealt with the impacts of aromatic solvents addition to a waxy crude and studied characteristics of wax deposits obtained from Cold Finger testing at different ratios of solvent/oil. The results showed that depending on solvent concentration the Wax Appearance Temperature (WAT), composition of paraffins and deposition rate have significantly changed. It was also shown that a biodegradable and low toxicity biosurfactant demonstrated a remarkable efficiency as wax dispersant to control and reduce organics deposition.