The Role of Polydispersity on Gel Strength In Alkane Solutions

Wax deposition is an issue of extreme importance and interest to the oil industry. One of the major issues regarding the deposit itself is the strength of the resultant gel that form once crystallization occurs. Greater insight into understanding what characteristics can cause strong deposits can be helpful in the proper development of wax inhibitors and/or a pigging schedule. Using binary and ternary systems, this research has shown that polydispersity and the ability of two or more components to cocrystallize both have major effects on the gelation characteristics. Additionally, the gelation characteristics of a system can be greatly influenced by the abundance of the crystallizable material present, both the least soluble component that dictates the cloud point and those more soluble components.