The effect of corrosion inhibitor films on deposition of wax to metal oxide surfaces

There are some processes, such as corrosion, scale deposition, wax depositi on and clathrate hydrate formation, which reduce the efficiency of transpor t processes in oil and gas pipelines. Strong efforts are being carried out to find better methods for preventing them. For instance, to avoid corrosio n it is common to add specific molecules that form protective films on pipe line surfaces. However, it has been observed that the use of these corrosio n inhibitors can induce wax deposition, and thus may exacerbate at least on e of the other undesirable phenomena. In this work, by using molecular dynamics techniques we have studied the pr ocesses associated with the deposition of alkanes on a hematite surface, an d the subsequent growth of an alkane crystal. Analogous calculations have a lso been performed for the adsorption of oleic imidazoline, which is used a s a corrosion inhibitor. (C) 2000 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved .