A Preliminary Study on the Magnetic Treatment of Fluids

Although the influence of magnetic fields on paraffin deposition is still dimly understood, magnetic devices have been exploited by the petroleum industry to mitigate this problem. In this study, a series of experiments were carried out using a lab-scale magnetic conditioner and two kind of samples: paraffin mixture and crude oil. The investigated parameters were: exposition time, temperature, magnetic field intensity. paraffin type and content in the fluid and the reversibility of the observed alterations. The results indicate that magnetic fields, up to 1 Tesla applied at a temperature close to the Wax Appearance Temperature (WAT), reduce the apparent viscosity of the samples. This effect has been ascribed to changes in the paraffin crystal morphology promoted by the magnetic field. Scanning Electronic Microscopy (SEM) was fundamental to confirm this hypothesis.