César C. Pacheco
Department of Mechanical Engineering, POLI/COPPE,
Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, Cid. Universitária, Cx. Postal 68503, Rio de Janeiro, 21941-972 Brazil
Helcio R. B. Orlande
Department of Mechanical Engineering, Politecnica/COPPE, Federal University of Rio de Janeiro - UFRJ, Caixa Postal: 68503, Cidade Universitaria, Rio de Janeiro, RJ, 21941-972, Brazil; Nanotechnology Eng. Program, COPPE, Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
Marcelo Jose Colaço
Department of Mechanical Engineering, POLI/COPPE,
Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, Cid. Universitária, Cx. Postal 68503, Rio de Janeiro, 21941-972 Brazil
Albino J. K. Leiroz
Department of Mechanical Engineering, POLI/COPPE,
Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, Cid. Universitária, Cx. Postal 68503, Rio de Janeiro, 21941-972 Brazil
Diego C. Estumano
Federal University of Rio de Janeiro – PEM/COPPE/UFRJ, Cx. Postal: 68503, Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brazil
Nelson O. Rocha
PETROBRAS/CENPES/PDEP/TEE, Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brazil
Carlos. N. Khalil
KBR Tecnologia, Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brazil
Paraffin deposits in pipelines, tanks and other equipment are quite common in the oil industry. This deleterious phenomenon results from physical and chemical conditions that allow the deposit of straight chain high molecular weight contents of the oil, such as alkanes. In deep sea pipelines through cold waters, low temperatures and high pressures favor the paraffin deposit, which may completely block the oil flow, thus stopping the production, and incurring on large financial losses. The Nitrogen Generating System (acronym SGN) was developed to remove paraffin deposits with an exothermic reaction that increases the temperature and, therefore, raises the solubility of the paraffin deposited. SGN has been successfully applied to several real-life cases in the oil industry, but care must be exercised when paraffin blockages occur in nowadays risers. The walls of risers are commonly formed by several layers of different materials, including steel and polymers. Hence, if not properly devised, the use of SGN may result on temperature increases that cause thermal decomposition of the wall layers and structural damage to the riser. This work deals with the numerical thermal analysis of the application of SGN to the removal of a paraffin blockage in a riser.