Estudo da cristalização de parafinas por espectroscopia de RMN em temperaturas variáveis

Abstract

The crystallisation and formation of paraffin deposits is a critical operational problem for the petroleum industry around the world because it causes significant economic losses in oil recovery. Many studies have been performed to develop thermodynamic models for the prediction of paraffin precipitation, and the majority of them employ nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) with a high or low magnetic field, along with other techniques, such as differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), elemental analysis and gas chromatography, to characterise the solid phase formed from petroleum. This study attempts to better understand paraffinic wax crystallisation using 1H and 13C NMR spectroscopy experiments performed at various temperatures, which may assist the prediction and remediation of the problems caused by its deposition in production flow lines. Hence, the study of this phenomenon was initially conducted with commercial paraffin samples and, later, with a paraffinic petroleum sample with temperature variation without extracting the solid phase, preventing the interference of solvents that can influence the crystallisation process. The developed methodology proved to be useful for the determination of the wax appearance temperature (WAT), in accordance with the DSC results for commercial paraffin and petroleum. The spectra at different temperatures also allowed the identification of the variations in the line intensity and width of the signals associated with the different chemical groups present in the studied materials.