The mechanisms and parameters that determine whether naphthenates will form under field conditions are still poorly understood, and much effort is being spent on understanding these better. At Scaled Solutions, we have designed dynamic naphthenate flow rigs that have been used to investigate the formation and inhibition of calcium naphthenate deposits in the laboratory under conditions closely resembling those found in the field. These test rigs complement the somewhat limited conventional bottle tests, the results of which often do not represent the operators’ reality.
Our dynamic flow rigs have been validated in field studies and are routinely used to assist in new field risk assessments and the determination of field treatment designs. Tests are conducted at representative temperatures (up to 100 °C) and pressures (up to 10 barg) and can include the presence of CO2, known to be critical to accurately simulating field conditions. We also offer supportive testing including Total Acid Number (TAN), C80 tetraacid analysis (ARN), water-in-oil (Karl Fischer), oil-in-water (Infracal), total salt in crude and SEM/EDX (to identify deposits).
