Cold-Flow Reactor Hydrate Slurry Pipeline Plugging Prevention
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current methods for preventing natural gas hydrate formation and wax deposition in pipelines require energized equipment, which is unreliable and costly for subsea applications, and often involve recycling loops that can lead to hydrate growth and plugging issues.
Innovation Solution
The method involves seeding a cold-flow reactor with dry hydrate particles and using static mixers to create a dry hydrate slurry, which is introduced into the main pipeline, eliminating the need for energized equipment and recycle loops, and using a falling film reactor or rough-walled pipes to prevent hydrate agglomeration and wax deposition.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If energized equipment (pump, grinder) is used to recycle dry hydrates, then hydrate formation is prevented, but equipment reliability decreases and maintenance costs increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts and eliminates the recycle loop system with its associated pump and grinder equipment. Instead of continuously recycling dry hydrates through energized equipment, the invention uses a one-time injection of dry hydrate seeds into the wellstream, removing the need for ongoing mechanical intervention while maintaining hydrate prevention effectiveness.
Solution Approach 2:
The injected dry hydrate seeds automatically initiate and propagate hydrate formation throughout the wellstream without requiring external energized equipment. The system becomes self-regulating as the seeds naturally convert water to hydrates in-situ, eliminating the need for continuous mechanical recycling operations.
2Reliability
If recycle loop with pump and grinder is used, then hydrate plugging is prevented, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent removes the entire recycle loop infrastructure including pumps, grinders, and associated control systems. The simplified approach involves only injecting dry hydrate seeds into the wellstream, dramatically reducing device complexity while maintaining the ability to prevent hydrate plugging through passive hydrate formation.
Solution Approach 2:
Instead of using mechanical equipment to actively manage and recycle hydrates, the invention inverts the approach by passively injecting seeds that automatically trigger hydrate formation. This reverses the conventional paradigm from active mechanical control to passive chemical/physical transformation, simplifying the overall system architecture.
3Stability of the object's composition
If continuous recycling of dry hydrates is performed, then hydrate growth is controlled, but loss of substance increases due to equipment wear and energy consumption
Solution Approach 1:
The patent eliminates the continuous recycling process that causes hydrate material loss through equipment wear and energy consumption. By using a one-time injection of dry hydrate seeds, the system avoids ongoing material loss while still achieving effective hydrate formation and plugging prevention through the natural growth of hydrates from the injected seeds.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
This approach effectively prevents hydrate formation and wax deposition without energized equipment, reducing maintenance costs and ensuring reliable fluid flow, even during unplanned shut-ins, by converting water into dry hydrates and dispersing wax particles within the fluid stream, thus avoiding pipeline plugging.
Implementation Method 1
seeding a cold-flow reactor before startup operation with dry hydrate particles, creating a dry hydrate sidestream by diverting a portion of wellstream of hydrocarbons into the reactor
Implementation Method 2
converting water into dry hydrates
Implementation Method 3
using static mixers to create a dry hydrate slurry
Implementation Method 4
converting at least a portion of the water in the wellstream into dry hydrates
Implementation Method 5
high pressures and low temperatures wherever a suitable gas and water are present
Implementation Method 6
dispersing wax particles within the fluid stream
Implementation Method 7
using a falling film reactor or rough-walled pipes to prevent hydrate agglomeration
Data Source
AI summary
Method for reducing loss of flow due to hydrate solids deposits and wax deposition in a pipeline without the aid of chemicals and system for transporting a flow of wellstream hydrocarbons containing water, using a main pipeline and a cold-flow reactor connected to the main pipeline or within or forming a part of the pipeline, wherein at least a portion of the wellstream is fed to the cold-flow reactor. Also provided is a method for preventing hydrate nucleation and growth in a pipeline and preventing hydrate agglomeration as well as for preventing wax deposition. The provided method eliminates the use of energized equipment for melting, grinding or scraping hydrate solids from inside of pipelines or flowlines. Generating dry hydrates to be mixed with main flow of a wellstream is also described.