Combined Mechanical and Chemical Pipeline Cleaning Techniques

Laurence Abney, Eldfiskvegan 1, Tananger, 4056 Norway Allan Browne, Don Facility, Howe Moss Crescent, Aberdeen, AB21 0GN United Kingdom

Abstract Efficient operation of pipelines transporting hydrocarbons is crucial; any change to the internal pipe surface due to debris or corrosion significantly impacts both the pipeline throughput and energy required to maintain design flow rates. The most common cleaning approach uses mechanical scrapers to abrade debris accumulations; success of mechanical scraping is dependent upon the properties of the debris in the pipeline, the scraper design/type and the debristransport capabilities of the fluid resident in the pipeline during the scraping operation. Removal of debris with (1) high specific-gravity materials that have adhesive/cohesive properties, or (2) emulsified mixtures of solids, hydrocarbon, and water is not readily addressed by mechanical scraping. The use of specialised fluids with enhanced solid transport capabilities, specialised dispersants, or specialised surfactants capable of releasing emulsion-bound materials can improve vastly the success of routine mechanical scraping operations. This paper presents a review of pipeline cleaning methods and how the combined use of chemical and mechanical cleaning can yield beneficial results. Introduction Debris and deposits on the internal surfaces of pipelines exist in a number of forms. The type of deposit or debris in any given situation is usually a function of the conditions under which a pipeline operates, the properties and chemistry of the transported fluid, and the metallurgy of the pipe. In general, terms deposit and debris formation result from (1) a combination of changes in the conditions of the transported fluid (temperature and/or pressure) over the length of the pipeline, (2) a chemical reaction between the transported fluid and the pipe alloy or (3) a combination of both. Table 1 lists some common deposit types and the most common mechanism associated with their formation. It can be seen from Table 1 that the most common deposits that form on the internal surface of pipelines require differing removal approaches and there may be a number of treatment options to any given deposit type. Prior to the application of any pipeline deposit/debris removal program, study of the detailed history of the pipeline and its contents is desirable. Additionally, the chemical analysis of transported fluids, any injected inhibitors or chemicals, and where possible, chemical analysis of the deposit itself will aid in the selection of a suitable treatment program. The geometry of the system, valve type and design, valve seal material, and any wall-thickness variations will have an impact on the cleaning methodology, so access to drawings of the system and its components is also beneficial. Most deposits, when considered in isolation, have known and available treatment options, the most common of which are listed in Table 2. However, it is common for a number of debris types to co-exist in varying proportions along the length of the pipeline. Additionally the debris may be mixed with hydrocarbons, which can complicate the cleaning/removal process.

Estimate of Deposit Volume In addition to the treatment options, consideration must be given to the volume of debris in the pipeline and how this debris will behave when it is liberated from the pipeline walls. Understanding the volume of deposit that may be resident in a pipeline is a critical part of the cleaning process. If a material of high specific gravity is in the pipeline, such as black powder or barium sulphate, it will be very difficult to remove large volumes of the material if the fluid system in the pipeline has not been designed with the capacity to transport the debris. Table 3 gives an indication of the amount of debris that can be present in a pipeline where black powder is present. In the example in Table 3, the 18-in. pipeline has suffered from 0.15% surface corrosion, resulting in a weight of deposits equal to almost 25 tonnes. If the pipeline deposit is paraffin wax (or other surface buildup) an understanding of the volume of deposit in the pipeline will enable better planning of the requirements at the receiving facility. Quantification of the volume of paraffin wax in a pipeline can be achieved through the use of a technique known as time of flight. This is where a trace material is injected into the (constant) production flow at one end of the pipeline and the remote end of the pipeline is monitored for the passage of the trace material. The time required for the tracer to transit the pipeline system can then be used to calculate the volume of paraffin wax (or other) deposit in the pipeline as shown in Table 4. In the above example, the total volume of debris that would have to be processed or disposed of at the receiving facility is over 417 m3. Pipeline CleaningMechanical Mechanical scrapers or brushes are used to provide a means to dislodge or abrade debris adhering to pipeline walls or accumulating at low points in a pipeline system. In dry-gas lines, scrapers mounted with magnets can also be used to pick up iron-containing deposits within the system. However, each pipeline scraper will carry only a limited volume of debris and some of the debris may be deposited at the 6 oclock position in the pipeline. As a scraper travels along the pipeline, a plume of debris is pushed ahead of each scraper (Fig. 1). If the deposits are of a high specific gravity or the pipeline fluids have limited debris-carrying capacity, particularly gas pipelines, the debris rapidly settles both ahead and behind the scraper in the bottom of the pipeline. If the debris ahead of the scraper becomes significant there is potential for the scraper to become stuck behind the debris accumulation (Fig. 2). Alternatively, the scraper may pass over the debris accumulation and continue along the line. However, the debris accumulation will remain in the pipeline (Fig. 3). Consideration must be given to the carrying capacity of the fluid in the pipeline system so that any debris dislodged through the mechanical action of a scraper or scraper train is carried efficiently from the pipeline system. Pipeline CleaningChemical Chemical cleaning techniques have been used in various processing industries for a number of years. Chemicals can be used to remove hydrocarbons, grease, corrosion and scales. This technology is proven and has been adapted for use in pipeline systems. However for subsea pipeline systems, particularly in deep water where the ambient temperature is low, the effectiveness of any chemical system is either reduced or retarded. Paraffin waxes are termed as normal, branched, or cyclic alkanes with the general formula CnH2n+2. Crude-oil paraffin deposits are made up of individual alkanes ranging approximately from a carbon chain length of 20 with a melting point on the order of 37C, to a chain length of 60 with a melting point of approximately 102C. Deposited paraffin can also contain gums, resins, asphaltic material, crude oil, sand, silt, corrosion products, scale and in many instances, water. Due to the wide range of paraffin wax chain lengths and the almost infinite number of impurities that can be contained in the deposit, each wax will respond to an applied solvent in a unique way. Scale is a solid mineral deposit usually formed from produced water. Scale occurs in primary production wells, secondary wells, injection wells, disposal wells, and pipelines that connect wells to facilities. Wherever water production occurs, a potential for scale formation exists. Scale types can be divided roughly into three classes: Water-soluble Acid-soluble Acid-insoluble This, of course, is a simplified division because seldom is pure calcium sulphate or pure calcium carbonate deposited. Usually the scale deposit is a mixture of one or more of the major inorganic components and corrosion products, oil, formation fines, paraffin, and other impurities, but separation into water-soluble, acid-soluble or acid-insoluble is adequate for field analysis. In addition, acid-soluble scales may appear in combination with acid-insoluble scales. Any one or a combination of following factors can cause scale: Pressure changes Temperature changes Impurities Additives

Variation of flow rates Changes in pH Fluid expansion Gas evaporation Mixing of incompatible waters

Mixing of incompatible waters causes the minerals in solution to form an insoluble precipitate. Scale can develop almost immediately or it can build up over several months before becoming noticeable. Some scale, such as calcium carbonate, may develop quickly but is relatively easy to treat. Barium sulfate is typically slower to form, but it is more difficult to treat. Debris-transport gel is a term applied to engineered fluids that possess viscous properties required to effectively transport debris under defined dynamic conditions. Although no chemical reaction with the pipeline debris occurs, gelled fluids are quite effective in removal of dislodged or loose debris. Debris-transport gels must be properly designed and formulated based on prevailing flow rate, pipeline diameter, anticipated debris volume, and debris properties such as mean particle size and specific gravity. Example Project 1 A 438-km land gas pipeline had been converted to liquids service, the line, when in gas service had not exhibited any debris problems, but when liquids were introduced to the pipeline, a volume of fine black powder material was entrained in the product and resulted in the fluids being contaminated. The debris-removal options were evaluated during an initial conceptual engineering phase of the project. The conclusion was that the black powder was relatively easy to remove from the walls of the pipeline through the combined use of mechanical scrapers, but the transportation of the removed debris over the long distances was presenting a challenge. The pipeline was transporting batches of different refined hydrocarbon liquids so it was not desirable to introduce an aqueous-based gel into the system. The final methodology selection was the use of mechanical debris removal with brush scrapers and gelled hydrocarbon liquids to transport the removed debris. A thorough review of mechanical scraper design was completed for the pipeline; the main concerns were that over the relatively long distances in a large-diameter pipeline, the wear from the abrasive black powder would cause the scraper discs to wear excessively. This wear would result in potential containment issues and higher than normal disc bypass that may impact the integrity of the debris-transportation fluid. The scraper train was designed to minimize the effects of dilution via both forward and reverse bypass of the scrapers. The scraper train was also designed to contain the debris so that contamination to the contents of the pipeline immediately ahead and behind the scraper train would be minimized. The estimated volume of debris in the pipeline was between 70 000 kg and 175 000 kg so the scraper train was designed to carry a minimum of 180 000 kg of debris. The anticipated volume of debris effectively ruled out any chemical treatment and the only option was mechanical removal combined with an effective transportation system. Fig. 4 shows a schematic of the scraper train that was used; direction of travel is from left to right. The hydrocarbon gel system was such that the gelling agents were soluble in hydrocarbon liquids and any excessive bypass would result in reduced carrying capacity of the scraper train. A program of sampling was introduced so that the performance of the cleaning system and the consistency of the gel could be monitored at points along the pipeline. Gel dilution is shown graphically in Fig. 5. To mitigate the expected dilution effects, gel concentration was varied between the individual compartments. On completion of the 438-km run, the gel was at 79% the consistency of that of the injected gel. A mass of 72 750 kg of black powder was transported from the pipeline in one pass. The pipeline was cleaned to the required specification. Example Project 2 A 300-km section of a liquid-transportation pipeline had been removed from service and left dormant for a number of years; the pipeline owner was converting the pipeline from liquid service to gas service. The pipeline contained an unknown amount of crude oil, sand, silt, and corrosion deposits. The objective was to remove liquid/solid organic material and solid inorganic material from the pipeline, and to clean the pipeline so that it could enter gas-transportation service. The ambient temperature where the pipeline was located ranged from 15 to 45C and there was a concern that the liquid crude oil that had remained in the pipeline would have lost a significant amount of the lighter fractions and would be in a viscous state. Additionally, there were known paraffin and asphaltic components present in the crude. Corrosion products and other organic deposits were also expected to be in the line. The large diameter of the pipeline (Fig. 6) caused concerns with regards to wear of the scraper discs; this was mitigated to an extent because most of the scrapers would be surrounded by liquid. The requirements of the cleaning train were: Mobilize the viscous deposits with a solvent. Mechanically remove crude oil/deposits from the pipeline walls. Wash the crude oil from the pipe walls with a surfactant mixture. Carry the deposits out of the pipeline using a gel. Rinse the surfactant and gel from the pipe wall.

Fig. 7 shows a schematic of the scraper train that was used; the direction of travel is from left to right. Table 6 gives compartment specifications for the scraper train. The scraper discs performed very well, with minimal wear over the 300-km run. 2000 cubic meters of crude oil was displaced from the pipeline, 397 000 kg of debris was removed from the pipeline. The debris was a combination of organic solids, sand and black powder. The pipeline was cleaned to bare metal and in a condition suitable to accept process gas (Fig. 8). Example Project 3 A small-bore (3.5 in. OD) crude oil flowline had become severely restricted with paraffin wax deposits; the throughput of the flowline had reduced from design to 221 liters per minute. Due to the small internal diameter of the pipeline mechanical pigging was considered to be high risk, therefore a methodology for cleaning the line had to minimize the number or eliminate the use of scrapers in the pipeline. The volume of deposit in the line was unknown, so a time of flight technique was considered (see above) but not used. After consideration of all of the parameters it was decided to combine undersize, soft-foam scrapers with aromatic hydrocarbon solvents to soften and remove the deposits in the pipeline. Below is a summary of the final sequence of events during the operation: 1. Pump volume equivalent to 1000 linear meters of aromatic hydrocarbon (4710 L). 2. Launch under-sized, low-density foam scraper. 3. Pump volume equivalent to 1450 linear meters of aromatic hydrocarbon (6814 L) 4. Launch under-sized low-density foam scraper. 5. Displace with diesel/stabilized crude. 6. Repeat above three times. 7. Displace line with aromatic hydrocarbon and allow to soak. 8. Pump volume equivalent to 1000 linear meters of aromatic hydrocarbon (4710 L) 9. Launch under-sized, low-density foam scraper. 10. Pump volume equivalent to 1450 linear meters of aromatic hydrocarbon (6814 L) 11. Launch under-sized medium-density foam scraper. 12. Displace with diesel/stabilized crude. 13. Monitor flow rate. On completion of the project, the flow rate through the flowline increased to 718 L/min. All of the removed deposit was hydrocarbon-based and in liquid form that could be sent to the process system. Apart from the used foam scrapers, there was no waste product/material generated on the project. Conclusions The use of mechanical or chemical cleaning techniques in isolation can produce adequate results; however, where a complex mixture of material is present in a pipeline the combination of chemical techniques and mechanical action produce superior results. Consideration to the volume of deposit that will be removed from the pipeline is essential, particularly where the material has to be recovered and disposed of via an approved waste-treatment facility.

Table 1Common Debris Types/Formation Mechanisms. Debris Type(s) Wax, asphaltene, or organic solids Inorganic scale Iron oxide, iron sulphide, or iron carbonate (generically referred to as "black powder") Sand/well fines Emulsions Typical Cause(s) Temperature and/or pressure change in transported hydrocarbon fluid Temperature and/or pressure change in transported aqueous fluid Co-mingled transport of incompatible aqueous fluids Direct chemical reaction of transported fluid components with pipe alloy Ineffective removal of mill-scale from new pipe during pre-commissioning Improper dewatering, drying and/or commissioning or remedial works lay-up of pipe during pre-

Produced from the well with the hydrocarbons Energized mixing of different liquid and/or solid phases

Table 2Debris Types and Treatment Options Debris Type Paraffin wax, asphaltene, and organic solids Inorganic scale, acid-soluble Inorganic scale, acid-insoluble Iron oxide, iron sulphide, carbonate (black powder) Sand/well fines Emulsions iron Treatment Option Solvents, dispersants, hot oil, exothermic chemical reactions and mechanical Inhibited acids (hydrochloric, sulphuric, etc.) and mechanical Liquid scale disintegrators, mechanical and gelled fluids Mechanical, acid and gelled fluids Mechanical, gelled fluids Surfactants

Table 3Black Powder Estimate Description Pipeline OD Pipeline wall thickness Pipeline ID Pipe length Surface area Estimated average surface corrosion in the pipeline Depth of corrosion on internal pipeline surface Convert 1/1000 of an inch into feet Volume of steel debris per foot = surface area * depth Density of steel Weight of 1 ft3 of steel converted to iron oxide [FeO(OH)] Weight of 1 ft of steel converted to iron sulfide [FeS] Estimated mixture of iron oxide : iron sulfide Weight of corrosion products per linear foot Total weight of debris
3

Data 18 0.375 17.2496063 100 328,083 4.516 0.15% 0.562795276 0.000047 0.000211796 500 795 785 50 0.167 0.250 54,894 24 952

Units in. in. in. km ft ft2/ft Mils ft ft3/ft lb/ft3 lb lb % lb/ft kg/m lb kg

Pipeline Design Details Pipe diameter Pipe length Pipe wall thickness Pipe ID Flow area = Resultant fluid velocity Calculated time of flight

Table 4Paraffin Wax Volume Estimate Pipeline As Built Details 12 in. Pipe diameter 12 in. 35 000 m Pipe length 35 000 m 0.406 in. Pipe wall thickness 0.406 in 11.188 in. Pipe ID 10.082 in. 284.180 mm 0.06345 m2 Calculated flow area 0.05152 m2 10,000 bbl/day 1.104 m3/min 1.104 m3/min 17.40 m/min Resultant fluid velocity 21.429 m / min 2,011.50 minutes Measured time of flight 1633.3 minutes 120,689.93 seconds 98,000 Seconds Wax volume 417.52 m3 Average pipeline ID1 256.08 mm Average wax thickness1 14.05 mm 1 Based on an even distribution of wax along the pipeline

Fig. 1If deposits are of high specific gravity or if pipeline fluids have limited debris-carrying capacity, debris may settle rapidly both ahead and behind the scraper.

Fig. 2If a significant amount of debris accumulates ahead of the scraper, the scraper may become stuck.

Fig. 3The scraper may pass over the debris accumulation and leave the debris in the pipeline.

Fig. 4The scraper train shown schematically as it moves from left to right. Table 5 describes the contents of each compartment.

Compartment 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

Table 5Compartment Specifications for Fig. 4 Design Volume, L Comments / Purpose 158 987diesel Diesel/gel film cleanup slug 158 987diesel Diesel/gel film cleanup slug Gel compartment, gel constituents loaded to account for 473 305gel forward diesel bypass 473 305gel Gel compartment 473 305gel Gel compartment Gel compartment, gel constituents loaded to account for 473 305gel reverse bypass (dilution) 158 987diesel Diesel forward bypass containment compartment

Fig. 5This graph shows the percentage of gel dilution as a function of distance traveled by the scraper train.

Fig. 6This view illustrates the large diameter of the pipeline cleaned in Example Project 2.

Fig. 7Schematic view of the scraper train used in Example Project 2. Table 6 describes the contents of each compartment.

Compartment 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

Table 6Compartment Specifications for Fig. 7 Scraper Train Design Volume, L Comments/Purpose 600 000 Light crude oil to condition any crude in the pipeline 600 000 Surfactant/water mix for oil removal 600 000 Surfactant/water mix for oil removal 600 000 Surfactant/water mix for oil removal 1 100 000 Gel for solids transportation 600 000 Gel for solids transportation 600 000 Rinse/passivate to remove any gel deposits from the line Nitrogen gas Nitrogen gas Hydrocarbon gas

Fig. 8This view shows the pipeline wall condition after 397 000 kg of debris and 2000 m crude oil were displaced from the pipeline.