Eventos Anais de eventos
ENCIT 2016
16th Brazilian Congress of Thermal Sciences and Engineering
EXPERIMENTAL ANALYSIS OF THE FLOW START-UP OF GELLED WAXY CRUDE OIL IN A PIPELINE PREVIOUSLY SUBMITTED TO DIFFERENT PRESSURIZATIONS
Submission Author:
Gabriel Tanaka Nunes , PR
Co-Authors:
Fernando Kroetz, Tainan Gabardo, Nezia de Rosso, Cezar Otaviano Ribeiro Negrao
Presenter: Gabriel Tanaka Nunes
doi://10.26678/ABCM.ENCIT2016.CIT2016-0627
Abstract
Energy and its production are major subjects of research and development, due to its importance to the economy. In this scenario, oil extraction and processing are some of the main ways of obtaining energy. In Brazil, oil is commonly extracted far away from the coast using oil platforms. Therefore, the fluid must be transported to land. One of the most used ways of doing it is through pipelines at the bottom of the sea, where the temperatures can be as low as 4ºC. During this process, in eventual stops, gelation can occur to the oil, due to the waxy deposition that takes place at the low temperatures in which the seabed is. During the flow start-up, pressures larger than the usual steady state pressure are necessary to break the gel-like structure. If those high pressures are not taken into account when designing the oil transport system, the pipeline may be damaged and even broken. One important factor that influences the pressure development during restart is the pressure in which the pipeline is subjected prior to the start-up. The objective of this work is to evaluate the differences of pressure evolution in a start-up process where the pipeline was previously submitted to distinct pressurizations levels and then to a constant flow rate to break the gel. The tests were executed using an experimental apparatus, consisting of a pair of syringe pumps that injects oil with constant flow rate into a pipeline connected to a storage tank and a temperature control system. It was observed that for a higher internal pressure in the pipeline prior to the start-up the pressure overshoot was higher and occurred at shorter times.
Keywords
Waxy Crude Oil, Flow start-up, Offshore, experimental analysis, Pressurization
