Electromagnetic fluid conditioning apparatus and method

Abstract

An electromagnetic fluid conditioning (EFC) apparatus and method to control paraffin and/or asphaltene is disclosed. Further, the present invention incorporates the discovery that the electric field must have specific characteristics to achieve the efficiency described herein. The invention disclosed is an apparatus and method for inducing a magnetic field parallel to the flow of fluid in the conduit at surface or downhole conditions and an electrical field orthogonal to the direction of the flow of fluid in the conductor. The EFC apparatus comprises a non-magnetic conduit having opposite ends and allowing a flow of product to go therethrough, an insulated coiled wire or winding in a magnetic enclosure within its opposite ends. The adjacent turns of the wire are electrically insulated from each other and the non-magnetic conduit. The winding is protected with an aluminum or stainless steel or other suitable non-magnetic material that encapsulates the wire and part of the non-magnetic conduit. The internal wall of the non-magnetic conduit is coated with a plastic film to insulate the non-magnetic conduit from the electrical field induced within the non-magnetic conduit of the magnetic field. The peripheral electrical devices are external. The peripheral electrical devices required are as follows: a mode selector switch (1/2 wave/full wave), a rectifier if DC current is desired, a voltage transformer if other voltage difference from 112 volts is required depending on the specific application.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.