摘要： 在寒冷的冬季,含蜡原油在管道输送过程中呈现出诸多棘手状况.原油的粘性显著增强,蜡层的厚度也急剧攀升,这无疑使得管道运行时所需的动力消耗大幅增加,给原油的高效、平稳运输带来了严峻挑战.机械清管向来是应对原油管道蜡沉积难题的有力举措,然而,因相关理论指导的缺失,冬季初次清管方案的规划往往只能倚仗传统经验,而泡沫清管器便成为了较为常见的选择.为有效攻克冬季高厚度蜡层的清管难关,一系列结蜡清管实验得以开展,涵盖清管实验以及针对清管器前端沉积物的掺混实验等.在此过程中,深入探究了直板清管器、皮碗清管器以及全涂层泡沫清管器对蜡层的剥离特性,细致对比了皮碗清管器和泡沫清管器所产生的前端产物给管道运行造成的不同影响.实验结果清晰地显示,尽管直板清管器在清蜡效率方面表现突出,但对于冬季高厚度蜡层的管道首次清管作业而言,却并非理想之选.皮碗清管器和全涂层泡沫清管器的清蜡效率颇为相近,不过,得益于泄流孔结构所产生的冲刷作用,皮碗清管器前端不易形成蜡塞,而且其前方油蜡浆液的凝点和粘度等物理性质变化能够契合运行规范,在运移过程中遭遇的阻力也更小.因而,皮碗清管器在冬季针对高厚度蜡层的首次清管作业中更具优势.就有着高厚度蜡层的 KS 原油管道而言,其冬季首次清管作业选用了泄流皮碗清管器,并收获了理想的清管成效,这无疑为高厚度蜡层管道在冬季的清管方案规划提供了极具价值的参考范例,为后续相关作业的开展提供了可靠的实践依据与思路借鉴.

关键词: 高厚度蜡层, 皮碗清管器, 泡沫清管器, 清蜡效率, 蜡塞运移, 油蜡浆液

Abstract: In the frigid winter,the transportation of waxy crude oil through pipelines encounters numerous thorny problems.The viscosity of the crude oil increases remarkably,and the thickness of the wax layer rises sharply.This undoubtedly leads to a significant increase in the power consumption required for pipeline operation,posing a severe challenge to the efficient and stable transportation of crude oil.Mechanical pigging has always been a powerful measure to deal with the problem of wax deposition in crude oil pipelines.However,due to the lack of relevant theoretical guidance,the planning of the initial pigging plan in winter often has to rely on traditional experience,and the foam pig has become a relatively common choice.To effectively overcome the difficulty of pigging in pipelines with a thick wax layer in winter,a series of deposition and pigging experiments have been carried out,including pigging experiments and blending experiments of deposits in front of the pigs.During this process,the wax layer removal characteristics of disk pigs,cup pigs,and fully coated foam pigs have been deeply explored,and the different impacts of the front products generated by cup pigs and foam pigs on pipeline operation have been carefully compared.The experimental results clearly showed that although the disk pig performs outstandingly in terms of wax removal efficiency,it is not an ideal choice for the first pigging operation of pipelines with a thick wax layer in winter.The wax removal efficiencies of the cup pig and the fully coated foam pig are quite similar.However,thanks to the scouring effect generated by the discharge hole structure,it is not easy for the cup pig to form a wax plug at the front end,and the changes in physical properties such as the pour point and viscosity of the oil-wax slurry in front of it can meet the operation specifications,and the resistance encountered during the migration process is also smaller.Therefore,the cup pig has more advantages in the first pigging operation of pipelines with a thick wax layer in winter.For the KS crude oil pipeline with a thick wax layer,the bypass cup pig was selected for its first winter pigging operation and achieved satisfactory pigging results.This undoubtedly provides a valuable reference example for the planning of pigging schemes for pipelines with a thick wax layer in winter,and provides reliable practical basis and idea references for the subsequent related operations.

Key words: high thickness of deposits, cup pig, foam pig, wax removal efficiency, wax plug transportation, oil-wax slurry

中图分类号: 

• TE832 TE973