Document Type : Regular Article

Author

• Anfal Hayder Sadeq H Al- Samkri

College of Oil and Gas Engineering, University of Technology, Baghdad, Iraq.

Abstract

With global energy demand on the rise, natural gas continues to hold a crucial role in meeting the world’s energy needs. This growing reliance also brings practical challenges, one of the most important being the contamination of pipelines with black powder. Reducing these pollutants, which threaten pipeline integrity and transmission efficiency, is critical to ensure sustainable gas supplies and maintain system performance. The study aims to investigate the effect of chemical treatments with zinc chloride (ZnCl2) and sodium nitrate (NaNO3) on the composition of black powder taken from an Iraqi gas pipeline. Samples were treated with solutions at concentrations of 5, 7, and 10% for each component and inspected using X-ray fluorescence (XRF) to evaluate their effect. The results demonstrated that ZnCl₂ reduced iron oxide (Fe2O3) content by about 32%, while NaNO3 achieved a slight reduction in Fe2O3. Treatment with ZnCl₂ successfully reduced iron content but introduced secondary contaminants, while NaNO₃ achieved a cleaner, though less intense, effect. This suggests that chemical treatments can significantly alter the composition of black powder and improve pipeline maintenance strategies.

Keywords

• Natural gas pipelines
• black powder
• ZnCl2
• NaNO3
• XRF