(85h) Existence of Supersaturation and Its Effect on Wax Deposition Behavior

Accurate prediction of wax deposition behavior in oil and gas production is necessary to design optimal flow assurance strategy. Current mechanistic models used for predicting wax deposition phenomenon have high uncertainty especially under turbulent flow conditions. This high uncertainty in prediction may be attributed to the incorrect assumptions of the underlying mechanisms that may not represent the process. Microscopic observations of flowing crystals above the interface validates the existence of partial supersaturation in the boundary layer and interface. A new model is proposed with the incorporation of the effect of supersaturation as a correction factor for the existing wax deposition model. This model is validated with flow loop data at various conditions.