Online Monitoring System in Wax Formation in the Pipeline

The unwanted solidifying process of crude oil in pipeline is one of the major
problems in the oil industry. Waxes, the heaviest saturated paraffin, tend to
precipitate during the transportation flow line from the offshore to onshore. Electrical
Capacitance Tomography (ECT), a form of Non-Destructive Test (NDT), is a new
technique to gain information on the distribution of the contents in closed pipes. The
variations on the dielectric properties of the material inside the pipeline are
measurable to determine the condition of pipeline. ECT is the most advance
monitoring system which inclusive of imaging data other than the numerical data.
ECT is selected over other tomography modalities due to its advantages over others.
The advantages of ECT can be briefly summarized, namely, it produce fast imaging
speed, it release zero radiation, robust, low in cost, non-intrusive and non-invasive,
and it can withstands to high pressure and temperature. These advantages suit with
the aim to monitor the formation of wax in crude oil pipeline.