Abstract
Calcium carbonate and iron carbonate scales are widely observed in oil and gas production. Scale formation can be useful for corrosion control; however, excessive scale buildup can lead to severe production loss. What is called calcite scale in the field is almost always a solid solution of iron in calcite. Yet little attention has been paid to the precipitation of these mixed calcium-iron carbonate scales. As a result, knowledge of the formation and inhibition of mixed calcium/iron scales is very limited.
Normally, calcite scale formation is readily inhibited, whereas siderite inhibition is notoriously difficult. The solid-solution transition from predominantly calcite to predominantly siderite properties is unknown. Besides, although the solubility of mixed scale can differ by several orders of magnitudes from the solubility of its pure salts, scale prediction models are normally developed based on the data from pure solids. Finally, the incorporation of iron into calcite solid dramatically alters the kinetics of scale growth, as will be illustrated.
A series of experiments were performed to precipitate mixed iron-calcium carbonate (FexCa1−XCO3), ranging from calcium-rich to iron-rich. The experiments were conducted at 7.3±0.2 pH in 0.5 M NaCl at 55 °C. The work was performed with a new constant composition method, modified to handle oxygen sensitive ferrous carbonate scale and solid solutions.
Based upon the experimental results and a flux-based theoretical derivation, a new correlation in a form of a logistic function has been developed to predict the composition of FexCa1−xCO3 as a function of the aqueous composition. The model is an excellent representation for all of the experimental results, with R2 greater than 0.97. The correlation and methods developed in this work can readily be adapted to other mixed scale systems. Laboratory results will be compared with field observations and the consequences discussed.
