Wax Deposition

Zhenyu Huang (Jason) earned his bachelor’s degree from Tsinghua University, Beijing, China, and his Ph.D from the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, USA. Dr. Huang’s expertise includes production chemistry and multiphase flows. As a subject matter expert on wax-related issues, he has been involved with multiple major offshore developments that present wax deposition/gelation concerns. He is currently a senior flow assurance specialist at Assured Flow Solutions LLC, Sugar Land, Texas, USA, and serves as the vice president of the Upstream Engineering and Flow Assurance Section of the American Institute of Chemical Engineers.Sheng Zheng (Mark) graduated summa cum laude from the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, USA with a bachelor’s degree in chemical engineering and minors in chemistry and mathematics. He is currently a doctoral candidate in Dr. Fogler’s research group, specializing in experimental characterizations and theoretical modeling for wax deposition research. He has multiple publications on compositional wax deposition modeling and wax transport in multiphase flow conditions. As flow assurance intern at Wood Group Kenny, Houston, Texas, USA, he carried out a joint-industrial project to assess industrial wax management and control strategies for 11 international oil companies.H. Scott Fogler earned his bachelor’s degree from the University of Illinois and his master’s and Ph.D degrees from the University of Colorado. He is currently the Ame and Catherine Vennema professor of chemical engineering and the Arthur F. Thurnau professor at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, USA. Dr. Fogler and his students have published more than 200 research articles in areas such as wax deposition/gelation kinetics in subsea pipelines, asphaltene flocculation/deposition kinetics, scale deposition, and acidization of petroleum wells. In 1996, Dr. Fogler was a recipient of the Warren K. Lewis award from the American Institute of Chemical Engineers (AlChE). He is also a recipient of 11 named lectureships, the author of a textbook titled Elements of Chemical Reaction Engineering, and the past president of the AlChE.

"… covers the entire spectrum of knowledge on wax deposition. It not only introduces the background, basic concepts, experiments, modeling, and field operations of wax deposition, but also presents the latest research achievements and trends in this field. … Highly valuable for researchers and engineers."—Jinjun Zhang, China University of Petroleum - Beijing"A useful methodological approach for tackling industrial wax deposition problems is clearly conveyed in this work, encompassing fundamental theory, scale-up, as well as practical application. … An unassuming pedagogical style, supported by uncluttered illustrations, allows the reader to quickly absorb and master the smorgasbord of non-trivial intricacies which accompany wax deposition analysis."—Kristofer Gunnar Paso, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Trondheim"… covers nearly every aspect of wax deposition-related research, from fluid analysis and deposition measurements to thermodynamic modeling, kinetic deposition modeling, and field application. Engineers and researchers in the area of flow assurance will benefit a lot from this book. This could also inspire students, researchers in the field of transport phenomena, and thermodynamics and process engineers to further explore the remaining challenges."—Shuxin Hou, Statoil, Stavanger, Norway"At last, a powerful tool for the flow assurance engineer. … All we need to know on wax deposition is gathered in a sole work."—Thierry Palermo, Total S.A., Paris, France

• Introduction. Experimental Characterization of Wax Thermodynamic Properties. Thermodynamic Modeling of Wax Precipitation. Wax Deposition Modeling. Introduction to Wax Deposition Experiments. Applying Wax Deposition Models to Flow Loop Experiments. Applying Wax Deposition Models for Field Predictions. Bibliography. Nomenclature.