abstract
The formation of alloys of inorganic compounds has been known for centuries, yet it is not only on metallurgy and ceramics that metals and inorganic salts in general form mixed crystals. Reports on the formation of alloys, or solid solutions, of organic compounds, although still rare, have been appearing regularly in the last few years for aromatic compounds, such as substituted benzenes and naphtalenes [1-3], pyrene and anthracene [4-6], for carbohydrates [7], terpenes [8], neopentane derivatives [9-10] and fulerenes, besides solid solutions of C60 with C70 [11-12] solid solutions of C60 in sulphur have been reported [13]. Nevertheless it is among the molecules with long n-alkyl chains such as n-alcohols [14], fats [15], soaps [16] and alkanes [17-20] that solid solutions appear more frequently. Although most of these alloys are still just interesting academic curiosities, these new materials seem quite promising and interesting applications for some of them have been identified. N-alkane blends have been patented for energy storage and preservation of food, medicine and cell tissues [21]; solutions of aromatics based on pyrene have interesting optical properties [4-6]. Surfactants of controlled properties [16] and the manipulation of the behaviour of fats to confer them new organoleptic characteristics [15] have been surfacing showing the exciting possibilities of these new materials.Although the materials based on n-alkane alloys have been used for long as candles, waterproof coatings, pharmaceutical and cosmetics, and in spite of paraffin waxes being a valuable by-product of petroleum refining, the research on n-alkane solid solutions has been mainly prompted by its dark side: The damages and losses caused by wax precipitation from petroleum fluids. Every year wax deposition costs billions of dollars in preventive maintenance, remediation of pipeline blockages and losses of production [22,23]. Better computer models can help anticipate the problems allowing for preventive actions, optimization of actions and avoid losses by shutting down of production or by accident. The presentation of this chapter will focus on the prediction of the wax precipitation from petroleum fluids both at high pressures, in reservoir conditions, or at low pressures, as stock tank oil or fuels. In the final section the application of the model proposed to other systems of organic solid solutions will be discussed.
authors
Coutinho JAP, Pauly J, Daridon JL
our authors
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