A review of prediction methods for oilfield produced water scaling

Abstract In oilfield development, pipeline corrosion and reservoir damage caused by produced water scaling are serious problems. Studying the scaling trend of produced water, and predicting the scaling position, scale amount, and scale type is of great significance to the production and development of oilfields, as well as scale prevention and cleaning. In this paper, the mechanism of scaling in produced water is studied from the perspective of five aspects: fluid incompatibility, thermodynamic condition change, crystal adsorption, kinetic factors and bacterial corrosion; moreover, other factors affecting the scaling are analyzed. Mathematical models of scaling prediction methods, scaling prediction methods, and simulation experiments of scaling prediction methods are introduced, and the characteristics of each scaling prediction method and simulation experiment are compared. Finally, the development of scaling prediction methods is prospected.