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New Understanding on Calcium Carbonate Scaling Kinetics

Calcium carbonate (CaCO3) is the predominate type of mineral scale formed in many industrial water processes including oil and gas production. Comprehensive and accurate knowledge on the CaCO3 scaling risk is critical for the effective scale management. Currently scale risk assessment is largely depends on thermodynamic simulation which predicts the saturation state under given conditions there are very limited experimental or field data on scaling kinetics. Previous works on temperature effect were investigated on nucleation and precipitation in bulk solutions which didn’t involve the CaCO3 adhesion and accumulation on existing surface. The pressure effect is considered in scaling tendency calculation but its potential impact on scaling kinetics is usually neglected.This paper presents the laboratory results of CaCO3 scaling kinetics at various temperatures (80-150°C) and pressures (500-5000 psia). Tests were conducted with a dynamic tube blocking apparatus which measures CaCO3 scale buildup by monitoring hydrostatic pressure differential (DP) across a capillary tubing and the time for scale formation was determined. Test waters were maintained at similar CaCO3 supersaturation state at different temperatures and pressures by adjusting bicarbonate concentration. Results show that under the test conditions scaling rate was accelerated by both temperature and pressure. CaCO3 scaling time was shortened approximately 2 times when pressure was increased from 500 psi to 5000 psi at the same temperature and similar supersaturation state. For examples scaling timeis decreased from ~65minutes to ~40minutes at 80°C and from ~40 minutes to < 20 minutes at 125°C with pressure changed from 500 psi to 5000 psi..This study provides new understanding on the mineral scaling kinetics by identifying the pressure dependence of CaCO3 scale formation process. Experimental results show that pressure other than its impact on solubility has additional kinetic effect on CaCO3 scaling rate. This kinetic effect should be included in the scaling risk assessment especially for the high pressure systems.

Product Number: 51319-12935-SG
Author: Qiwei Wang
Publication Date: 2019
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