Journal of Petroleum Science and Engineering 70 (2010) 1–9

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Journal of Petroleum Science and Engineering

j o u r n a l h o m e p a g e : w w w. e l s ev i e r. c o m / l o c a t e / p e t r o l

Study on the wax deposition of waxy crude in pipelines and its application
Zhang Guozhong ⁎, Liu Gang 1
Pipeline Engineering Lab., China University of Petroleum, Dongying City 257061, Shan Dong Province, China

a r t i c l e i n f o a b s t r a c t

Article history: An experimental loop for the wax deposition study is established; a novel method to determine the thickness
Received 23 July 2007 of the wax deposition in the experimental loop is developed, taking into account the impact of the instant
Accepted 21 November 2008 temperature decreasing of the test section wall which leads to the increasing of the viscosity of the crude oil
near the pipe wall and the distortion of the flow field in the pipe. The wax deposition characteristics of the
Keywords:
QH crude are studied using the experimental loop. For the QH crude oil, there is a peak area of the wax
pipeline
wax deposition
deposition when it is 40 °C around. And very little deposition emerges when the temperature is not only
molecular diffusion higher than the wax appearance point but also lower than the temperature of solidification. It is also proved
shearing diffusion in the lab that the shearing dispersion of the wax crystal particles plays little role in the wax deposition when
restart after shutdown the shearing rate is high. The observation of the pipe which is cut in the field shows that the laying of the wax
critical thickness of the sedimentary layer deposition in the pipe is very clear, and the wax deposition caused by the shearing dispersion exists clearly.
From the angel of the shutdown temperature drop and safely restart for the hot oil pipeline, it is concluded
that there is a permissible critical thickness of the sedimentary layer for the low flow rate pipelines.
© 2009 Published by Elsevier B.V.

1. Introduction paraffin molecular concentration difference along the radial

The wax deposition of the crude oil in the pipelines makes the flow
area smaller and smaller with time going by, which influences the
transportation capacity and the operation safety of the pipelines.
During transportation the wax sedimentary layer has two roles: firstly,
the sedimentary layer makes the thermal resistance higher, which
decreases the heat loss of the crude in the pipelines when flowing;
secondly, the sedimentary layer makes the flow area smaller, which
increases the flow resistance, causing the ascending of the transporta-
tion pressure or the declining of the transportation capacity. Some-
times, the too thick sedimentary layer may lead to the “paraffin
blockage” during pigging. So, the wax deposition condition must be
understood clearly for the operation and the management of the hot
oil pipelines.
There are many influence factors for the wax deposition: the crude
components, the carbon atom distribution of the paraffin, the oil
temperature, the temperature difference between the oil and the pipe
wall, the deposition duration, the flow rate, and so on. According to
the sedimentary dynamics (Yang, 2006), the wax deposition in the hot
oil pipelines can be analyzed as follows:
(1) On one hand, the deposition process. The temperature
difference between the oil and the pipe wall leads to the
⁎ Corresponding author. Tel./fax: +86 546 8391944.
E-mail addresses: gzzhang@hdpu.edu.cn (Z. Guozhong), liugang@hdpu.edu.cn
(L. Gang).
1
Tel.: +86 546 8391944.
direction of the pipe, which causes the paraffin molecular
diffusion to the wall. When it is between the wax appearance
point and the solidifying point, the paraffin molecular diffused
to the wall will be supersaturated, dissolve out and deposit on
the pipe wall. Moreover, the precipitated wax crystals emerged
in the cool down duration may diffuse to the pipe wall by the
action of the shearing of the flow field in pipelines. In addition,
the gravity may cause the crystals deposit on the bottom of the
pipe wall.
(2) On the other hand, the oil washing action on the sedimentary
layer. The oil put shearing stress on the sedimentary layer,
which may reduce the thickness of the sedimentary layer if the
shearing stress is larger than the structural strength of the
sedimentary layer.
2. Experimental apparatus (Cai, 2003)
The experimental apparatus comprises four basic parts: the
experimental pipe system, the circulating water system, the data
acquisition system and washing system, see Fig. 1. The experimental
pipe system contains two important sections: the reference section
and the test section, whose detailed geometric parameters can be
found in the literature (Cai, 2003). The experimental pipe system
except the test section is placed in the water bath 1 directly. While
there is a water jacket covered on the test section, which is packaged
with an insulating layer. The oil temperature in the pipe system can be
controlled by the water bath 1, and the wall temperature of the test
section can be controlled by the water bath 2. During tests, there is no

0920-4105/$ – see front matter © 2009 Published by Elsevier B.V.

doi:10.1016/j.petrol.2008.11.003
2 Z. Guozhong, L. Gang / Journal of Petroleum Science and Engineering 70 (2010) 1–9

Fig. 1. Diagram of the experimental apparatus for wax deposition.

wax deposit appearance when the oil temperature is equal to the wall
temperature of the test section. While wax deposit appears after some
time when the wall temperature is lower than the oil temperature of
the test section. So, the thickness of the wax deposition layer can be
calculated on the base of the differential pressure of both the test
section and the reference section. The floating line pumping is used in
the tests to avoid the crude sample changing in test.
The geometric parameters of the test section and reference
section: the internal diameter D = 20.47 mm, the length L = 4.75 m;
the experimental conditions: flowrate Q = 80.7 ml/s. The relationship
between the physical property of the crude and the temperature is
shown in Table 1.
It can be seen from Fig. 2a (the radial temperature field) that at the
position 0.1 m from the entrance in the test section, the wall
temperature is 40 °C, the oil temperature near the wall is 40.4 °C,
and in the scope between the wall and the position 8.8 mm far from
the wall in the radial direction, the oil temperature in the pipe change
with radial position nearly linearly until the oil temperature is 45 °C in
the center of the pipe. With the increase of the distance from the test
section entrance the scope of the oil temperature drop will be widen.
From Fig. 2b (the radial velocity field) it can be seen that the
velocity in the pipe center is obviously larger than the center velocity

3. Determination of the wax deposition thickness

The differential pressure of the test section and the reference

section should be measured during the wax deposition experiment
which can be used to calculate the thickness of the wax deposition
layer. It is found in the tests that when the wall temperature of the test
section is regulated to a lower temperature, the differential pressure of
the test section will increase abruptly. According to the theory of the
molecular diffusion, the wax deposition in the pipe should be a
continuous process. At the moment the wall temperature of the test
section is decreased, the wax deposition thickness will not instantly
increase a lot. So the instant increase of the differential pressure
should not be the result of the wax deposition.
It is concluded from the analysis on the experiment process that, at
the moment the wall temperature of the test section is lowered, the
temperature of the oil near the test section wall will decrease rapidly
which lead to a fast increase of the oil viscosity near the wall, which is
affected by the cool water in the jacket covered on the test section.
Furthermore, the flow field in the test section will distort because of
the radial differential temperature, which makes the differential
pressure of the test section increase suddenly. The computation
simulation results of the radial temperature field and the radial
velocity field in the test section are shown in Fig. 2.

Table 1
The physical property of QH crude.

Physical property Expression Unit

Density ρ = 840 − 0.59(t − 20) kg/m3
Heat absorption capacity Cp = 3096.14114 − 5.66875t − 0.322t2 J/(kg °C)
Thermo-conductivity λ = 0.16276(1 − 0.00054t) W/(m °C)
Dynamic viscosity μ = [19.54674 − 1.36857(t − 38) + 0.07271 Pa s
(t − 38)2 − 0.00163(t − 38)3/1000
Fig. 2. Temperature field and velocity field in the test section.
 Z. Guozhong, L. Gang / Journal of Petroleum Science and Engineering 70 (2010) 1–9 3

Table 2
The basic physical property of the QH crude.

Solidifying Viscosity Wax Abnormal Wax Asphaltene

point (°C) at 50 °C precipitation temperature content content
(mPa s) point (°C) (°C) (%) (%)
34 10.4 47 38 39.09 6.78

pseudoplastic fluid; m = 5 + b(3n − 4) for hydraulically

smooth region of pseudoplastic fluid.
n is the rheological behavior index;
b can be interpolated using the Dodge and Metzner empirical
formula (Yang, 2006);
DR, DT is the internal diameter of the reference and test section, m;
ΔPR, ΔPT are the differential pressures for the reference section and
the test section respectively, Pa;
ðΔpT =ΔpR Þ0 is the ratio of the differential pressures of the reference
section and the test section at the moment the wall
temperature begins to decline.

The problem that the larger wax deposition speed is deduced by

Fig. 3. Test datum and the corresponding sedimentary layer thickness.
the traditional method can be solved by dealing with the wax
deposition test datum with the formula (2). Test datum and the
thickness of deposition layer results are shown in Fig. 3, whose test
conditions are: oil temperature is 45 °C, the difference in temperature
between the oil and the wall is 5 °C, and the flow state in the pipe is
laminar flow.
It can be seen from Fig. 3a that when the wall temperature of the
test section begins to decline, the differential pressure of the test
section increases abruptly and then slowly. The slow increase of the
differential pressure of the test section reflects the enhancement of the
thickness of the wax deposition layer. Obviously, the instant increase of
the differential pressure should be the result of the viscosity increase of
the oil near the wall and the distortion of the velocity field rather than
the wax deposition. The modified results for the change of the wax
deposition layer thickness with time are shown in Fig. 3b.

4. The wax deposition characteristics of the QH crude

when the wall temperature is equal to the oil temperature. That is, the
velocity field in the test section changes distinctly. 4.1. The physical property of the QH crude
When dealing with the experimental datum, the effect of the
viscosity increase of the oil near the wall and the distortion of the Tables 2 and 3.
velocity field should be eliminated. The thickness of the wax
deposition layer should be gotten using the following formula: 4.2. The change of the wax deposition thickness with time under different
difference in temperature between the oil and the wall
1
um
D VT = 1
 DR ð1Þ When the oil temperature is 45 °C and the differences in
ðΔpT =ΔpR Þm
temperature between the oil and the wall are 3 °C, 5 and 8 °C in (a),
(b) and (c) respectively, the change curves of the wax deposition layer
DT − D TV thickness with time are shown in Fig. 4. It can be seen that the wax
δ= ð2Þ deposition layer thickness increases monotonically with time, though
2
the differences in temperature between the oil and the wall are
different. Also, the difference in temperature is higher, the average
ðΔpT =ΔpR Þ0 wax deposition rate (mm/d) is larger.
u= ð3Þ
ðDR =DT Þm The test results of the average wax deposition layer thickness (in
unit time) of the QH crude under different oil temperatures (50, 45,

φ in the formula (1) is a correct coefficient for the viscosity

increase of the oil near the wall and the distortion of the Table 3
The apparent viscosity at low temperatures of QH crude.
velocity field, which can be calculated using the test datum
of the test section at the moment the wall temperature Temperature (°C) Apparent viscosity (mPa s)
begins to decline; du/dr = 99.34 l/s du/dr = 62.74 l/s du/dr = 41.83 l/s
m in the formula (1)and (3) depends on the oil property and 36 26.92 27.24 33.5
the flow condition in the test section. m = 4 for laminar flow 35 35 38.09 45.82
of Newtonian fluid; m = 4.75 for hydraulically smooth 34 44.57 52 69.27
32 65.3 89.1 123.7
region of Newtonian fluid; m = 3n + 1 for laminar flow of
4 Z. Guozhong, L. Gang / Journal of Petroleum Science and Engineering 70 (2010) 1–9

Table 4
Average wax deposition layer thickness.

Oil temperature (°C) Average wax deposition layer thickness (mm)

Differences in temperature between the oil and
the wall (°C)
3 5 8
50 0.0000 0.0418 0.1673
45 0.0143 0.0766 0.1607
40 0.0822 0.1333 0.0000
35 0.0000 / /

and 8 °C respectively, the sedimentation time is 40–45 h and the oil

temperatures are 45 °C and 50 °C respectively.
From Fig. 5(a) it is shown that when the oil temperature is 50 °C,
the average wax deposition rate is increasing with the declining of the
wall temperature monotonously; when the differences in temperature
between the oil and the wall are 3 °C that is the wall temperature is
47 °C, the average wax deposition rate is zero. On the base of the
analysis on the QH crude property, it is found that 47 °C is around the
wax precipitation point of the crude, under which temperature the
supersaturated paraffin molecule concentration is very low making
the wax deposition power tend to zero, as a result, no wax deposition
happens on the wall.
From Fig. 5(b) it is shown that when the oil temperature is 45 °C,
the average wax deposition rate is increasing with the declining of the
wall temperature; when the difference in temperature between the oil
and the wall is 8 °C (the wall temperature is 37 °C), the average wax
deposition rate is close to the maximum value, and at the same time
the tendency of the wax deposition rate is going to change.

Fig. 4. Thickness of deposition changing with time at different wall temperature (oil
temperature 45 °C).

40, 35 °C) and different differences in temperature between the oil

and the wall (3, 5, 8 °C) are shown in Table 4.

4.3. The rate of the wax deposition under different difference in

temperature between the oil and the wall when the oil temperatures
are 45 °C and 50 °C respectively

The average wax deposition rates are shown in Fig. 5 when the Fig. 5. Relation between speed of deposition and temperature difference (oil
differences in temperature between the oil and the wall are 3 °C, 5 °C temperature 45, 50 °C).
 Z. Guozhong, L. Gang / Journal of Petroleum Science and Engineering 70 (2010) 1–9
4.4. The rate of the wax deposition under different difference in
temperature between the oil and the wall when the oil temperature is
40 °C
The average wax deposition rates are shown in Fig. 6 when the
differences in temperature between the oil and the wall are 3 °C, 5 and
8 °C respectively and the sedimentation time is 50 h.
(1) From Fig. 6 it is shown that when the oil temperature is 40 °C,
within the test temperature range the average wax deposition
rate does not change monotonously with the declining of the
wall temperature. When the difference in temperature
between the oil and the wall is 0 (the wall temperature is
equal to the oil temperature), it is proved by tests that no
deposition happens because of no power for the lateral
diffusion of the wax molecules; When the wall temperature is
equal to 32 °C (the difference in temperature between the oil
and the wall is 8 °C), it is also proved by tests that no deposition
happens in pipe because the oil temperature near the wall is
lower than the solidifying point, at which temperature the
crude's viscosity is very high and moreover there is some
structure exist in the crude; when the difference in tempera-
ture is 4.5 °C (the wall temperature is equal to 35.5 °C), the peak
of the average wax deposition rate appears.
(2) When the oil temperature is equal to 40 °C and the wall
temperature is equal to 32 °C (the difference in temperature
between the oil and the wall is 8 °C) and the sedimentation time
is 40 h, it is found that no wax deposition exist. Under this
condition it is shown by numerical simulation that the
temperature of the oil near the wall (within 1.5 mm from the
wall) is lower than the solidifying point of 35 °C. The viscosity of
the oil near the wall is very high and there is some waxy
network structure, which make the supersaturated wax
molecules lose their diffusibility; in addition, the flow rate in
the pipe is relatively high, which provide a relative high shear
stress on the wall, so, it is difficult for the wax to deposit on the
wall.
(3) When the oil temperature is 35 °C, the wall temperature is 32 °C,
and the sedimentation time is 26 h, the ΔPT/ΔPR does not change
with time, which reflects that no deposition at the wall exist.
The reason is the same as mentioned above: the temperature of
the oil in the pipe center is 35 °C, and the temperatures of the oil
at radial positions are all lower than the solidifying point. The
viscosity of the oil is very high and there is some waxy network
structure exist, which make the supersaturated wax molecules
lose their diffusibility and cannot reach the wall.
Fig. 6. Relation between speed of deposition and temperature difference (oil
temperature 40 °C).
5
5. The shear diffusion sedimentation and the gravity settling of
wax particles (Bern et al., 1980; Burger and Perkins, 1981;
Hamouda and Viken, 1993; Brown et al., 1993; Huang, 2003)
Under high shear rates, wax molecules diffusion is the main factor
for the process of the wax deposition in pipes. While if the flow rate in
pipes is low, the shear stress on the settled layer caused by the crude
will be small, thus, the shear diffusion and the gravity settling of wax
particles should be taken into account besides wax molecules
diffusion.
5.1. The shear diffusion sedimentation of wax particles
To verify the shear diffusion sedimentation role of wax particles,
test has been carried out. During the test, shear rate at the wall is
84.5 l/s, and three factors are specially considered:
(1) Oil temperature of the test is chosen as 40 °C (lower than the
wax precipitation point) to ensure there are enough wax
crystals in the crude when testing. 40 °C is near the peak of wax
precipitation, at which temperature a lot of wax crystals has
appeared in the crude.
(2) The impact of the molecules diffusion should be eliminated. To
keep the oil temperature and the wall temperature the same
causes the radial temperature gradient to be zero, which make
the molecules diffusion inoperative.
(3) To make a sedimentation layer come into being beforehand
provides the deposition conditions for the supersaturated wax
crystals.
To meet the requirements mentioned above, the test is divided into
two stages. In the first stage, the oil temperature is kept as 45.0 °C, the
wall temperature is 42.0 °C, and the sedimentation time is 41 h, which
make the sedimentation layer appear on the wall. During this stage
the pressure difference of the test section increases continuously
indicating the continuous augment of the wax deposition. In the
second stage, the temperatures of the oil and the wall are all regulated
to 40.0 °C, which make the strength of the sedimentation more
powerful and provide nucleus of crystallization for wax crystals shear
diffused to the wall. During this stage, the test proceeds for nearly
another 20 h, and the pressure difference ratio of the test section and
reference section changes little. It shows that under high shear rates
the shear stress on the wall caused by the flow crude is relatively high.
If the shear stress is higher than the adhesive force between the wax
particles and the sedimentation layer on the wall, the shear diffusion
has no role on the wax deposition in the model loop.
5.2. The observation of the wax deposition in the low flow rate pipeline
in the field
The WJ pipeline transports the NY crude, whose length is
286.4 km, outside diameter is 426 mm and the wall thickness is
7 mm. The flow rate is 130 m3/h when normal operation. The
maximum deposition layer posits at the 214 km by calculation, whose
value is 115 mm, with the effective inside diameter only 182 mm of the
pipeline correspondingly. The deposition morphology in the pipeline
is shown in Fig. 7, which is cut in the field at another position. It can be
seen from Fig. 7 that the wax sedimentation in the lower part of the
pipeline is relatively much. The wax deposition can be divided into
three layers, the sedimentation closefitting on the wall seems compact
and with high strength, which has high content of wax and
mechanical impurities; while the uppermost layer of the sedimenta-
tion looks soft not like the crude with lots of granular particles in it, for
test results see Table 5. The role of shear diffusion and gravity settling
of wax particles on the wax deposition in the low flow rate pipelines
can be seen from above.
6 Z. Guozhong, L. Gang / Journal of Petroleum Science and Engineering 70 (2010) 1–9
Fig. 7. Pipeline sectional view cut in the field.
5.3. The critical thickness of the sedimentary layer for the low flow rate
pipelines
The role of the wax sedimentation in the hot waxy crude oil
pipelines can be considered from two aspects: a) when the pipeline is
production running; b) when the pipeline is restarted after shutdown.
5.3.1. When the pipeline is production running
During operation of the low flow rate hot oil pipelines, the wax
sedimentation has two roles: on one hand, the thermal resistance role
of the sedimentary layer decreases the oil temperature gradient along
the pipeline saving fuel; on the other hand, the sedimentary layer
reduces the effective inside diameter of pipelines, which increases the
friction resistance and make much more power provided by the
pumping stations. For a certain pipeline, different flow rate means
different combined action of the sedimentary layer. The increase of
the friction resistance is the main contradiction for a full loading
pipeline, so pigging is needed at regular intervals to ensure the
completion of the transporting mission. For a partial loading pipeline,
the decrease of the oil temperature is the main contradiction, which
means the thermal resistance of the sedimentary layer will be a
positive factor, so pigging intervals is often relatively longer and in
some cases pigging is not carried out for a long time.
5.3.2. When the pipeline needs restart after shutdown
What people are concerned of is if the hot oil pipeline can be
restarted successfully after shut down.
Whether the pipeline can be restarted successfully depends on the
oil temperature along the pipeline before restart, the restart
characteristics of the gelled crude oil in the pipeline and the pipeline
effective internal diameter. During the restart after shutdown, the
wax sedimentation has two roles: on one hand, from aspect of the
Table 5
The basic properties of the wax sedimentation in the WJ pipeline.
Wax Resin Asphaltenes
content/% content/% content/%
1# (uppermost) 31.9 12.9 0.26
2#(middle) 30.3 13.4 0.45
3#(nearest the wall) 45.2 11.01 0.20
thermodynamic process, the sedimentary layer on the wall has the
additional thermal resistance role; but at the same time, the initial
thermal capacity of the oil in the pipeline will be reduced because of
the existence of the sedimentation, which may speed the temperature
drop of the oil in the pipeline after shutdown causing the lower oil
temperature at the end of shutdown and difficulties for restart. On the
other hand, from aspect of the restart process, the sedimentary layer
reduces the effective inside diameter of pipelines increasing the
restart difficulties. In addition, because the oil temperature is low at
the end of shut down causing shear stress on the sedimentary layer by
the gelled crude is large when the sedimentary layer is thick, which
may make the layer fall off the wall. The low temperature and the high
wax content of the sedimentation fall can increase the flow difficulty
of the gelled in the pipeline.
On the base of the analysis above, it is can be seen that for the low
flow rate pipelines long pigging intervals may save fuel during
production running, but there is restart failure risk exist if accident
shutdown happens. From the angle of the safe and economical
operating, the sedimentary layer thickness should be controlled
within a certain range for the low flow rate pipelines, which not only
satisfies the requirements for saving fuels during operating, but also
reduces the restart difficulties after accident shutdown. Obviously, for
the low flow rate hot oil pipelines there should be a critical thickness
of the sedimentary layer.
5.3.3. Determination of the critical thickness of the waxy sedimentary
layer
To determine the critical thickness of the waxy sedimentary layer
is to choose a thickness of the sedimentary layer which meets the
requirements for transportation economically and also restart
successfully after accident shutdown. The calculation content includes
the economic assessment for the transportation operating and the
numerical computation for the restart after shutdown. According to
the present price level, the temperature of oil coming into stations
should be as low as possible from the angle of saving fuels; while the
minimum temperature of oil coming into stations for a hot pipeline
depends on the fact whether the pipeline can be restarted successfully
after shutdown.
5.3.3.1. Computational model for the temperature drop of hot oil pipeline
during shutdown. The numerical simulation process for the tem-
perature drop of buried heated line during shutdown: the inside
radius of the buried heated line is given as Rn, buried depth of the pipe
center as Ht, and the radius of the pipe's heat affected zone as Rh. The
temperature field of the oil, the sedimentary layer and the soil around
the pipe can be reduced to a two dimension quasi-peridic temperature
Mechanical
impurities
content/%
2.70
1.15
9.22
Fig. 8. Cross section of the buried hot oil pipeline.
 Z. Guozhong, L. Gang / Journal of Petroleum Science and Engineering 70 (2010) 1–9 7

Table 6
The results of soil temperature above the pipe changing with time for 3 mm sedimentary layer.

Shutdown duration (h) Soil temperature (°C)

Depth = 1.288 m Depth = 1.251 m Depth = 1.185 m Depth = 1.062 m Depth = 0.882 m Depth = 0.654 m Depth = 0.369 m Depth = 0.000 m
0 35.4 35.0 34.6 34.0 33.4 33.1 32.8 32.6
4 34.9 34.7 34.4 33.9 33.4 33.1 32.8 32.6
8 34.7 34.6 34.3 33.9 33.4 33.1 32.8 32.7
16 34.3 34.2 34.1 33.8 33.4 33.1 32.8 32.7
24 33.7 33.7 33.6 33.5 33.3 33.0 32.8 32.7

field. The computational model for the temperature drop of hot oil ρt, Ct, λt density, specific heat and heat conduction coefficient of the
pipeline during shutdown is as follows (see Fig. 8): soil respectively
τ1 quasi-periodic computing time, s;


 τ0 annual atmospheric temperature fluctuation cycle, s;
ATp 1 A AT A AT
= λp + λp ðcrudeÞ T1(x, y, τ1) temperature field of oil, the sedimentary layer and soil, °C;
Aτ ρp Cp Ax Ax Ay Ay


 ð4Þ Ty(τ1) temperature of oil in the pipe;
AT1 1 A AT A AT α2 coefficient of heat emission between soil surface and air, W/m2;
= λ + λ1 ðsedimentary layerÞ
Aτ ρ1 C1 Ax 1 Ax Ay Ay °C;
Wa wind speed, m/s;


 TF temperature of the soil surface, °C;
ATt 1 A AT A AT
= λt + λt ðsoilÞ ð5Þ TA annual average air temperature, °C;
Aτ ρt Ct Ax Ax Ay Ay
TA max annual maximum air temperature, °C;
Ta day average air temperature, which fluctuates periodically,
A2 T A2 T can be calculated using the following formula:
Initial condition : + =0 ð6Þ
Ax 2
Ay2

2πτ1
Ta = TA + ðTA max − TA Þ cos
τ0
AT
Boundary condition; y = 0; − λt = α 2 ðTF − Ta Þ ð7Þ In it:
Ay
pffiffiffiffiffiffiffi
π V flow velocity of oil, m/s;
− aτ0 y
r = Rh ; T ð y; τ 1 Þ = TA + ðTA max − TA Þ/e ð8Þ

rffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffi T oil temperature, °C;
2πτ1 π P pressure in the pipe, Pa;
cos −y −ψ
τ0 aτ 0 ρ density, kg/m3;
λ coefficient of heat conductivity, W/m °C;
 
 C specific heat, J/kg °C;
AT
r = Rn ; α 1 Tp − Tbi = − λt ð9Þ Q volume flow rate of oil, m3/s;
Ar w
Tbi temperature of internal wall, °C;
d internal diameter, m;
In it: R internal radius, m;
" rffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffi
rffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffi2 # − 0:5 x distance from the upstream heating station, m;
λt π λ π τ operating time, s;
/= 1+2 +2 t
α2 aτ 0 α 2 aτ0 τbi shear stress on the internal wall; Pa;
2 3 α1 coefficient of heat emission between oil in the pipe and the
6 7 internal wall, W/m2; °C
6 1 7
ψ = tg − 1 6 rffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffi7 T0(x) initial axial temperature field of oil, °C;
4 α2 a  τ0 5
1+ TR outlet oil temperature of the station, °C.
τt π
5.3.3.2. Simulating calculation of the temperature drop of WJ pipeline
In the expression: during shutdown with different thickness of sedimentary layer. Cal-
culation conditions: the daily mean temperature is 32.5 °C (in
ρp, Cp, λp density, specific heat and heat conduction coefficient of the summer), the temperature of soil at the buried depth is 27.5 °C,
crude respectively; shutdown duration is 24 h. The temperature of soil above the pipe
ρl, Cl, λl density, specific heat and heat conduction coefficient of the changing with time can be seen in the Tables 6–9, according to
sedimentary layer respectively; different thickness of sedimentary layer.

Table 7
The results of soil temperature above the pipe changing with time for 15 mm sedimentary layer.

Shutdown duration (h) Soil temperature (°C)

Depth = 1.288 m Depth = 1.251 m Depth = 1.185 m Depth = 1.062 m Depth = 0.882 m Depth = 0.654 m Depth = 0.369 m Depth = 0.000 m
0 34.3 33.9 33.5 33.1 32.8 32.6 32.6 32.5
4 34.0 33.8 33.5 33.1 32.8 32.6 32.5 32.6
8 33.9 33.7 33.4 33.1 32.8 32.6 32.5 32.6
16 33.5 33.4 33.2 33.0 32.7 32.6 32.5 32.6
24 33.0 32.9 32.9 32.8 32.6 32.5 32.5 32.6
8 Z. Guozhong, L. Gang / Journal of Petroleum Science and Engineering 70 (2010) 1–9

Table 8
The results of soil temperature above the pipe changing with time for 30 mm sedimentary layer.

Shutdown duration (h) Soil temperature (°C)

Depth = 1.288 m Depth = 1.230 m Depth = 1.135 m Depth = 0.965 m Depth = 0.718 m Depth = 0.397 m Depth = 0.000 m
0 33.3 32.9 32.5 32.2 32.1 32.3 32.5
4 33.1 32.8 32.5 32.2 32.1 32.2 32.6
8 33.0 32.7 32.5 32.2 32.1 32.2 32.6
16 32.7 32.5 32.3 32.2 32.1 32.2 32.6
24 32.3 32.2 32.1 32.1 32.1 32.2 32.6

Table 9
The results of soil temperature above the pipe changing with time for 50 mm sedimentary layer.

Shutdown duration (h) Soil temperature (°C)

Depth = 1.288 m Depth = 1.222 m Depth = 1.120 m Depth = 0.946 m Depth = 0.702 m Depth = 0.387 m Depth = 0.000 m
0 32.2 31.9 31.6 31.5 31.6 32.0 32.5
4 32.1 31.8 31.6 31.5 31.6 32.0 32.5
8 32.1 31.8 31.6 31.5 31.6 32.0 32.5
16 31.9 31.7 31.5 31.5 31.6 32.0 32.5
24 31.5 31.4 31.4 31.4 31.6 32.0 32.5

Table 10
The results of mean oil temperatures during shutdown.

Thickness of sedimentary layer (mm) Mean oil temperature (°C)

Shutdown Shutdown Shutdown Shutdown Shutdown Shutdown Shutdown
duration (h) duration (h) duration (h) duration (h) duration (h) duration (h) duration (h)
0 4 8 12 16 20 24
3 36.0 35.5 35.2 34.9 34.7 34.5 34.2
15 36.0 35.5 35.1 34.7 34.4 34.1 33.8
30 36.0 35.4 35.0 34.5 34.2 33.8 33.5
50 36.0 35.4 34.9 34.4 33.9 33.5 33.2

From Tables 6–9 it can be seen that, in summer before shutdown
when the oil temperature is 36 °C, the thicker sedimentary layer is
larger, the lower temperature of soil above the pipe is, caused by the
heat resistance role of the sedimentary layer. For example, before
shutdown the temperature of soil at 1.288 m depth above the pipe is
35.4 °C for the 3 mm sedimentary layer, while it is 32.2 °C for the
50 mm sedimentary layer, whose difference is 3.2 °C. After shutdown
for 24 h, the temperature difference mentioned above is 2.2 °C. In
addition, because the air temperature is high and the difference of
temperature between oil and air is relative small, there is a low point
of soil temperature at a certain depth. With the increase of the
thickness of the sedimentary layer, the low point will move to top of
the pipe. The mean temperatures of oil in the pipe during shutdown
for different thickness of the sedimentary layer are shown in Table 10.
From Table 10 it can be seen that when the oil temperature is 36 °C,
the thicker sedimentary layer is, the bigger mean temperature drop of
oil in the pipe is, caused by the heat capacity of oil and the
temperature difference between oil and soil. For example, after 24 h
shutdown the oil temperature drop is 1.8 °C for the 3 mm sedimentary
layer, while it is 2.8 °C for the 50 mm sedimentary layer.
5.3.3.3. Calculation of the critical thickness of the sedimentary layer of
WJ pipeline. The critical thicknesses of the sedimentary layer of WJ
pipeline after 24 h shutdown in different seasons are shown in
Table 11. It can be seen that the critical thickness of the sedimentary
Table 11
The critical thickness of the sedimentary layer for WJ pipeline.
Season Summer Autumn Winter Spring
Critical thickness of the sedimentary layer (mm) 30 22
layer for hot oil pipelines depends on the season, the pipe diameter,
the characteristics of the gelled crude in the pipe, the environmental
condition around the pipe and the pipeline engineering condition.
It can be seen that in summer, because ambient temperature is
high and the oil temperature decline rate is small, the critical
thickness of the sedimentary layer is bigger than it in winter; the
bigger the pipe diameter is, the lager the heat capacity is, and the
easier restart is, so the critical thickness of the sedimentary layer is
larger; the lower the strength of gelled is, the easier restart is, so the
critical thickness of the sedimentary layer is larger.
6. Conclusion
(1) It is necessary to correct the sedimentary layer thickness based
on the tests in experimental loop taking the viscosity increase
of oil near the wall and the distortion of temperature field into
account.
(2) There is a peak of wax precipitation at 40 °C around for QH
crude; when the wall temperature is higher than the wax
precipitation point, little sedimentation appears; when the wall
temperature is lower than the solidifying point, little sedimen-
tation appears yet.
(3) It is proved by tests that when the shear rate is high, the shear
diffusion of wax crystal particles plays little role in wax
deposition; the pipeline sectional view cut in the field shows
that for the low flow rate hot oil pipeline, there is lots of
granular substances in the surface of the sedimentary layer,
which reveals the roles of the shear diffusion and gravity
settling.
(4) The wax deposition in the hot oil pipeline increases the heat
resistance between the oil and the environment, which can
8 18
slow down the axial temperature drop during production run;
 Z. Guozhong, L. Gang / Journal of Petroleum Science and Engineering 70 (2010) 1–9
the wax deposition reduces the pipe's effective diameter and
heat capacity, which increases the temperature decline rate and
the difficulty of restart after shutdown.
(5) There is a critical thickness of the sedimentary layer for the low
flow rate hot oil pipeline. The critical thickness of the
sedimentary layer for hot oil pipelines depends on the season,
the pipe diameter, the characteristics of the gelled crude in the
pipe, the environmental condition around the pipe and the
pipeline engineering condition. The higher ambient tempera-
ture is, the smaller oil temperature decline rate is, the bigger
the critical thickness of the sedimentary layer is; the bigger the
pipe diameter is, the lager the heat capacity is, and the easier
restart is, so the critical thickness of the sedimentary layer is
larger; the lower the strength of gelled is, the easier restart is, so
the critical thickness of the sedimentary layer is larger.
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Brown, T.S., Niesen, V.G., Erikson, D.D., 1993. Measurement and prediction of kinetics of
paraffin deposition. SPE 26548, the SPE 68th Annual Technical Conference &
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Burger, E.D., Perkins, T.K., 1981. Studies of wax deposition in the trans-Alaska pipeline.
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Cai, junmeng, 2003. Study on the wax deposition of crude pipeline using experimental
loop (master's thesis), China University of Petroleum.
Hamouda, A.A., Viken, B.K., 1993. Wax deposition mechanism under high-pressure and
in presence of light hydrocarbons. SPE 25189, the SPE International Symposium on
Oilfield Chemistry, pp. 385–395.
Huang, qiyu, 2003. Study on the wax sedimentary dynamics model for the waxy crude
oil pipeline (doctoral thesis), China University of Petroleum.
Yang, xiaoheng, 2006. Design and Administration of the Oil Pipeline. China University of
Petroleum Press, Dongying.
Zhang Guozhong, male, born in 2/1953, professor, head of pipeline engineering Lab. in
China University of Petroleum. Member of the Chinese Petroleum Society, member of
the Chinese Oil & Gas Storage and Transportation Special Interest Committee, member
of Chinese Petroleum Industry Standardization of the Storage and Transportation
Special Interest Committee, member of an editorial board for the Journal of Oil and Gas
Storage and Transportation, now engages in the study on theory and technology of the
oil and gas pipeline engineering.
Liu Gang, male, born in 10/1975, associate professor, PHD, now engages in the study on
theory and technology of the oil and gas pipeline engineering.