What is the physical or chemical techniques used to remove the naturally occurring radioactive materials NORM from from oil logging wells and pipes?
Hi Atef,
It's impossible to remove NORM in the oil wells, but some conditions are necessary to precipitate radium sulfates and carbonates. If injection water is poor of sulfate and carbonate, probably scales will not precipitate in the pipe walls.
Another way is avoid use additions containing barium.
To remove NORM of tube walls after scale formation, you can use some techniques, as high pressure water jet and after monitoring to see if all contamination was removed.
I hope to help you.
Very dear prof. Atef
Asalam alikom
It is goog wuestion.
It is a real problem in oil industry. This problem was not solved yet according to my knowledge . I think the solution will be very expensive sinces oil comapanies have huge amounts of soil containing higher levels of NORM resulting from drilling processes.
In my opinion, an alternative solution can be established if we make the radioactive isotopes in soil unavailable to plants, namely reducing the bioavailsbility .
I have read recentally an article . According to it one may reduce concentrations of NORM in soil. I'll pass it to you.
I think the pressure and the mechanical force could be suitable for this task.
I "suspect" that the removal of the NORM is impossible. As its name says, they are natural radioactive materials that are present in all rocks. In the organic material that gave rise to the oil and in the host rocks of the same one they were also. The most that can be done, as another reader suggests, is to avoid depositing some compounds that may contain some additional NORM, and / or not using drilling muds with high NORM contents.
Dear El-Taher
I am agree with Prof. María Elena Montero and Prof. Thiago de Paula Costa. It's impossible to remove NORM.
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