Modelling wax diffusion in crude oils: The cold finger device

In this paper we show how to obtain wax diffusivity and solubility values in crude oils from deposition measurements in the cold finger device with stirring. Providing a rather accurate knowledge of such quantities is of great importance in predicting the wax deposition rate in pipelines. We present a mathematical model in which the physical quantities are assumed to be space-independent in the bulk region of the device, because of agitation, so that mass transport occur in relatively thin boundary layers. As a consequence the deposition phenomenon is accelerated with respect to the static device (see [S. Correra, A. Fasano, L. Fusi, M. Primicerio, F. Rosso. Wax diffusivity under given thermal gradient: a mathematical model, to appear on ZAMM]), shortening the duration of experiments. Comparison with some available laboratory measurements shows a satisfactory agreement and the values obtained are in the range of those usually adopted by practitioners. (c) 2006 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.