Laboratory investigation on the impacts of enhanced oil recovery (EOR) chemicals, i.e., surfactant and polymer, on calcium carbonate scale formation and inhibition.

This CorrCompilation series focuses primarily on equilibrium-formed scales, where an aqueous fluid changes from an unsaturated equilibrium state to a saturated and supersaturated state and then solids may start to form. These types of fouling minerals include alkaline earth salts, silicates, alkaline salts (NaCl), sulfides, and under specific circumstances, metal sulfide salts that form through equilibrium changes. While corrosion product scales are not the subject of this book, the importance of corrosion product layers to the deposition of other scales will be described.

 

Since this is a CorrCompilation and more than 90 copies of NACE papers are included, the work is published in four volumes. The editor, Wayne W. Frenier, FNACE, provides an extensive introduction to each volume, offering the reader a thorough mix of history, theory, and engineering techniques and methods for addressing scale.

Volume 1: Introduction to Equipment Subject to Inorganic Scale

Volume 2: Current Mechanisms for Understanding Inorganic Scale Formation and Deposition

Volume 3: Chemistry and Application of Scale Inhibitors

Volume 4: Alternative Methods of Scale Control 

Predicting where, when, and, most importantly, how much scale will deposit and adhere to a critical surface has proven to be very challenging. This second volume, "Current Mechanisms for Understanding Inorganic Scale Formation and Deposition,"  will review literature for both the formation and deposition of the primary fouling mineral scales, CaCO3, CaSO4(X•H2O), BaSO4, metal sulfides, and silica/silicates.

This CorrCompilation series focuses primarily on equilibrium-formed scales, where an aqueous fluid changes from an unsaturated equilibrium state to a saturated and supersaturated state and then solids may start to form. These types of fouling minerals include alkaline earth salts, silicates, alkaline salts (NaCl), sulfides, and under specific circumstances, metal sulfide salts that form through equilibrium changes. While corrosion product scales are not the subject of this book, the importance of corrosion product layers to the deposition of other scales will be described. 

Since this is a CorrCompilation and more than 90 copies of NACE papers are included, the work is published in four volumes. The editor, Wayne W. Frenier, FNACE, provides an extensive introduction to each volume, offering the reader a thorough mix of history, theory, and engineering techniques and methods for addressing scale.

Volume 1: Introduction to Equipment Subject to Inorganic Scale

Volume 2: Current Mechanisms for Understanding Inorganic Scale Formation and Deposition

Volume 3: Chemistry and Application of Scale Inhibitors

Volume 4: Alternative Methods of Scale Control

This volume, “Chemistry and Application of Scale Inhibitors,” will describe current scale inhibitor (SI) chemicals and theories of their modes of action. These chemicals are used to inhibit (reduce) the detrimental effects of mineral scales on oil and gas as well as other industrial surfaces.

This CorrCompilation series focuses primarily on equilibrium-formed scales, where an aqueous fluid changes from an unsaturated equilibrium state to a saturated and supersaturated state and then solids may start to form. These types of fouling minerals include alkaline earth salts, silicates, alkaline salts (NaCl), sulfides, and under specific circumstances, metal sulfide salts that form through equilibrium changes. While corrosion product scales are not the subject of this book, the importance of corrosion product layers to the deposition of other scales will be described.

Since this is a CorrCompilation and more than 90 copies of NACE papers are attached, the work is published in four volumes. The editor, Wayne W. Frenier, FNACE, provides an extensive introduction to each volume, offering the reader a thorough mix of history, theory, and engineering techniques and methods for addressing scale.

Volume 1: Introduction to Equipment Subject to Inorganic Scale

Volume 2: Current Mechanisms for Understanding Inorganic Scale Formation and Deposition

Volume 3: Chemistry and Application of Scale Inhibitors

Volume 4: Alternative Methods of Scale Control 

This fourth volume, "Alternative Methods of Scale Control," reviews methods for controlling inorganic scale that provide alternatives to chemical SI methods or those that may be used with SIs to enhance management for an entire connected system. The first sections (1 and 2) describe non-chemical methods such as anti-scaling surfaces and electronic methods for reducing scale deposition.

This CorrCompilation focuses primarily on equilibrium-formed scales, where an aqueous fluid changes from an unsaturated equilibrium state to a saturated and supersaturated state and then solids may start to form. These types of fouling minerals include alkaline earth salts, silicates, alkaline salts (NaCl), sulfides, and under specific circumstances, metal sulfide salts that form through equilibrium changes. While corrosion product scales are not the subject of this book, the importance of corrosion product layers to the deposition of other scales will be described.

 

Since this is a CorrCompilation and more than 90 copies of NACE papers are included, the work is published in four volumes. The editor, Wayne W. Frenier, FNACE, provides an extensive introduction to each volume, offering the reader a thorough mix of history, theory, and engineering techniques and methods for addressing scale.

 

Volume 1: Introduction to Equipment Subject to Inorganic Scale

 

Volume 2: Current Mechanisms for Understanding Inorganic Scale Formation and Deposition

 

Volume 3: Chemistry and Application of Scale Inhibitors

 

Volume 4: Alternative Methods of Scale Control

 

This volume, “Introduction to Equipment Subject to Inorganic Scale,” describes the general types of oil and gas and industrial facilities that can be affected and frequently disabled by the formation and build-up of inorganic scale. This volume also describes many lab and field tests that are used to evaluate scaling and scale control methods.

 

NACE 2019 e-book

The “CorrCompilation: Oilfield Production Chemicals” series covers production, selection, performance evaluation, application, monitoring, and optimization of oilfield chemicals. The oilfield chemicals presented are corrosion inhibitors, biocides, scale inhibitors, and drag reducers. The editor, Joseph Itodo Emmanuel, believes it is a “must-have reference book” for corrosion engineers in the field, technicians, and field operation supervisors due to its broad spectrum. 

He suggests the compilation could be used for a university-level engineering or scientific course on oilfield chemicals or tailored training to enhance the technical knowledge of field personnel on oilfield chemical application and management.

Since this CorrCompilation series consists of 90 NACE technical papers or articles, it is published in three volumes.

Volume 1: Development and Selection

Volume 2: Performance Evaluation and Application

Volume 3: Monitoring and Optimization

Each volume contains current research findings, field treatment practices, best practices, and scientific and engineering concepts.

2019 NACE e-book

With the advancement in green technology-based energy generation to achieve net-zero emissions, geothermal energy has been considered one of the options to reduce the carbon footprint from oil/gas production. In this paper, geothermal energy refers to energy generation that involves a high-pressure, high-temperature (HPHT) environment. Both geothermal energy generation and oil and gas production in such environments - which includes the use of steam-flooded wells and geothermal wells are always challenging as a result of operational issues caused by inorganic scale formation. Changes in pH, temperature, pressure, and other factors in such environments can significantly reduce the solubility limit for mineral ions, causing minerals to precipitate from the solution. Calcite (CaCO3), silica (amorphous and colloidal), and poorly crystallized metal silicates are commonly encountered mineral scales in geothermal applications when the system temperature is approximately 200 to 250°C. Most of the commonly used scale inhibitors become inefficient in such geothermal environments as a result of structural disintegration and functional modifications. The problems are more severe in brine that contains divalent metal ions such as calcium and iron at higher concentration levels. This paper discusses various scale inhibitor chemistries that were developed and evaluated for their tolerance and performance at geothermal conditions particularly up to 250°C. The inhibition effect of these chemicals on calcite formation was analyzed in dynamic and static systems. The thermal stabilities of the chemistries were assessed in neat form and formulated product form using Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) analysis, visual inspections, and inhibition performance evaluations through both dynamic and static inhibition tests. The degradation and inhibition efficiencies of the inhibitors were evaluated before and after thermal aging.

HISTORICAL DOCUMENT. This standard describes a test method to screen scale inhibitors for their ability to prevent precipitation of BaSO4 or SrSO₄, or both, from oilfield brines.  This standard test method is intended to provide the user with a relative and quantitative measure of the ability of scale inhibitors to prevent (1) the formation and (2) the precipitation of solid BaSO₄ or SrSO₄, or both, which are necessary and critical stages in scale deposition

Mineral scale may be defined as an adherent deposit of predominantly inorganic compounds. A common process leading to scale formation is the precipitation of sparingly soluble salts from oilfield brines. Some oilfield brines contain sufficient sulfate ions (SO₄^2-) in the presence of barium ions (Ba²⁺) or strontium ions (Sr²⁺), or both, that the potential for forming barium sulfate (BaSO₄) scale or strontium sulfate (SrSO₄) scale, or both, exists due to changes in physical or chemical conditions. Often the formation of scale results in reduced production and increased maintenance costs. In some locations, naturally occurring radioactive materials (NORM) have been found to incorporate themselves into the scale. This complication may result in significant health, safety, and liability concerns and increased scale disposal costs.

Test methods designed to provide a relative and quantitative measure of the abilities of scale inhibitors to prevent the precipitation of solids, a necessary and critical stage in the formation of scale.

The accurate and precise analysis of scale inhibitors plays an important role in making key decisions on the efficiency of scale squeeze and continuous-chemical injection treatments.  At present, several techniques exist for scale inhibitor analysis, but each method has its own limitations and tedious analysis process. In addition, these methods often give results of either total chemical content or elemental analysis without details of chemical speciation.  Especially for phosphonate scale inhibitors, it is well known that there is no analytical methods available on the market to differentiate different species of phosphonate inhibitors, which impedes the applications of different types of phosphonate inhibitors on the scale treatment. There was therefore a need for a next-generation method for phosphonate analysis. An experimental methodology has been developed based upon the use of gold nanoparticles to enhance chemical signatures of scale inhibitors in brines using Surface Enhanced Raman Spectroscopy (SERS).  This methodology enables speciation and measurement at low concentrations in the range of 1 to 100 mg/L (ppm).  This study used two different phosphonate-type scale inhibitors, and initial laboratory results prove that this novel technology can help to differentiate between two different phosphonate-based chemicals. 

Scale control is vital for cooling water operations, and evaluation of best-fit scale inhibitors for the application is essential, for the scale treatment. One of the traditional test methods for industrial water scale inhibitor screening is static bottle testing. Recently, in other industries, Kinetic Turbidity Test (KTT) has gained more acceptance for scale inhibitor evaluation. KTT uses an Ultraviolet-Visible (UV-Vis) spectrophotometer to monitor scale formation at various dosages of tested products, as function of reaction time. The technology can provide minimum dosage recommendations for the treatment with selected inhibitors, and give the insight on scale formation kinetics and mechanism, under the effects of different types of scale inhibitors.  

Polymer dispersancy in waters with particulates such as iron oxide and clay, is also an important characteristic to evaluate, in systems with high levels of suspended solids or fine particles. Previously(currently), this testing was conducted in bottles where the turbidity of solutions were measured by pipette transfer to a cuvette and turbidity meter, providing one data point at a certain time. Kinetic turbidity testing can continuously and simultaneously monitor and record turbidity changes with time, under the effects of various polymer dispersants and dosages. This capability provides more thorough and objective data, for scale control product evaluation.
This paper presents the approach to evaluate scale control chemistries for industrial applications by KTT, and compares the KTT test data, with bottle test results. The laboratory testing results show that KTT provides a fast and data-driven approach for evaluating performance of scale inhibitors and dispersants.