Sand Cleaning – Oil-on-Sand Calculations (B-FSM-138)
What is thickness of oil layer on “cleaned” sand?
- OSPAR regulation of 1 weight percent oil on dry sand (10,000 mg/kg)
- Basis: ρs=2650 kg/m³, ρo=904 kg/m³ (API 25)
Step 1: Convert 99 wt.% sand to volume fraction (c):
Step 2: Calculate aggregate density:
Step 3: Calculations for 100 µm sand particle:
- Oil Thickness Layer = 52 µm on 100 µm sand particle, or 0.26 µm on 50 µm sand, or 0.05 µm on 10 µm sand
- Volume of oil in layer = 5 µm droplet
References:
- Rawlins, C.H. and Wang, I. 2001. “Design and Installation of a Sand-Separation and -Handling System for a Gulf of Mexico Oil Production Facility”. SPE Production and Facilities, August, pp. 134-140. https://doi.org/10.2118/72999-PA
- Rawlins, C.H. 2019. “Enhanced Production Through Surface Facilities Sand Management.” SPE Distinguished Lecturer presentation. Link here
Next week I will cover oil-on-sand analysis.
