Abstract

Different chelating agent-HF mixture systems have been used to stimulate deep hot sandstone formations. Typically, chelating
agents are used as a substitute for HCl and organic acids in HF based systems to stimulate hot and exotic oil and gas sandstone
formations. Apart from reducing the risk of corrosion, secondary and tertiary reactions, the system can be deployed in
formations containing high clays and carbonates as well as iron and zeolite bearing sandstone formations. However, several
fields cases indicated precipitation of aluminum-based scale following acid treatments that include these systems. The focus
of this paper is to identify the type of precipitations that occur during the reaction of chelating-HF systems and determine the
factors that affect these precipitations.
Solutions of different ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid EDTA containing two ammonium bifluoride ABF concentrations of
0.5 and 1.0 wt% were examined in this study. Aluminum chloride or calcium chloride was added separately to each chelating-
HF solution to contain various concentrations of aluminum or calcium. The filtered liquid was analyzed using inductively
coupled plasma ICP, while formed solid precipitate was analyzed by X-ray diffraction (XRD) and scanning electron
microscopy (SEM).
The main type of precipitate in solutions containing aluminum was identified as AlF
3
. The amount of precipitate was found
to be dependent on solution initial aluminum and free fluoride concentrations. In other words, the main factor that controlled
the aluminum-fluoride precipitation was found to be F/Al ratio and above a critical F/Al value, AlF
3
precipitates.

Introduction
Hydrofluoric based acids have been extensively used to stimulate sandstone formations with variable success rate. The poor
results are mainly attributed to the rapid spending rate, subsequent precipitation, and decomposition of sensitive clays and
matrix unconsolidation (Smith and Hendrickson, 1965; Gidley, 1985; Brady et al., 1989; Simon and Anderson, 1990;
Shuchart, 1995; Gdanski and Shuchart, 1996; Thomas et al., 2001). Hydrofluoric based acids went through several
optimization and development processes to overcome these potential limitations and the main drivers were developing
acidizing fluids with low corrosivity, retarded reaction rate and without undesirable reactions by-products (Rae and Di-Lullo,
2003). In terms of regular mud acid, in order to avoid undesirable reactions by-product, HCl/HF ratio is recommended to be
maintained high i.e. 9/1 (Gdanski and Shuchart, 1996). Nevertheless, strong acids such as HCl decompose sensitive clays
i.e. illite and chlorite by extracting aluminum resulting in amorphous silica precipitation and fines migration (Simon and
Anderson, 1990; Thomas et al., 2001).
Apart from regular mud acid, several approaches have been tried to address high temperature sandstone acidizing. These
include the use of retarded mud acids including that based on AlCl
3
, fluoboric acid and phosphonic acid, and organic-HF acids
(Thomas and Crowe, 1978; Gdanski, 1985; Lullo, 1996; Shuchart and Gdanski, 1996; Al-Harbi et al., 2011). However,
these retarded HF acids remained prone to the same mud acid problems as they provided a marginal reduction in the reaction
rate. In addition, fluoboric-based retarded mud acid will form potassium-based precipitate, KBF4, when it reacts with either
illite or K-feldspars. Aluminum chloride HF retarded system is very susceptible to aluminum fluoride precipitation (Al-
Dahlan et al., 2001). Organic-HF acids, on the other hand, can tackle some of these challenges due to their retarded nature,
low corrosion rate and compatibility with clays. However, organic-HF acids are more susceptible to aluminum fluoride
precipitation because of the high percentage of free fluoride (Schucart, 1997; Al-Harbi et al., 2011; Al-Harbi et al., 2012).
Chelating agents have been widely used as iron control agent in spent HCl acid (Frenier et al., 2000; Taylor et al., 1999)
and as primary dissolution agent in carbonate and sandstone matrix stimulation (Fredd and Fogler, 1998; Frenier et al.,
2004; Parkinson et al., 2010; Mahmoud et al., 2011). Frenier et al. (2004) showed results of laboratory tests and field
treatments using HEDTA. HEDTA could extract 1,100 ppm of aluminum when it was reacted with kaolinite at 300
o
F for 250

IPTC 16969
Evaluation of Chelating-Hydrofluoric Systems
B.G. Al-Harbi, SPE; M.H. Al-Khaldi, SPE; M.N. Al-Dahlan, SPE; Saudi Aramco
Copyright 2013, International Petroleum Technology Conference

This paper was prepared for presentation at the International Petroleum Technology Conference held in Beijing, China, 2628 March 2013.

This paper was selected for presentation by an IPTC Programme Committee following review of information contained in an abstract submitted by the author(s). Contents of the paper, as
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2 IPTC 16969
min. Field tests showed that HEDTA can be used to improve the productivity significantly by removing calcite and dolomite
content. Ali et al. (2002) reported that EDTA containing no HF performed better than HCl and organic acid for stimulating
damaged sandstone formations containing carbonate and acid sensitive clays. Additionally, Na
3
HEDTA was used to stimulate
Berea core and better results were obtained compared to HC and almost similar results to acetic acid followed by 9/1 mud
acid. Mahmoud et al (2011) conducted extensive laboratory work to evaluate different chelating agents including GLDA,
EDTA and HEDTA. GLDA caused significant improvement to the permeability of Berea cores and it performed better than
HEDTA at pH 4 and 300
o
F, whereas at pH 11 the performance was comparable. Mahmoud et al. (2011) also reported the
results of GLDA containing different concentrations of HF acid. GLDA performed better than GLDA containing HF and as
HF concentration decreases the performance improves. Besides, GLDA performed better than HEDTA for stimulating
Bandera and Berea sandstone cores. Parkinson et al. (2010) compared the performance of Na
3
HEDTA, Na
3
HEDTA/HF and
regular mud acid for stimulating Berea sandstone and the laboratory tests showed that Na
3
HEDTA as standalone acidizing
fluid is the most effective among the tested acid mixtures. The main objective of this study is to assess the interaction between
different EDTA/HF mixtures with both calcium and aluminum, two main ions present in spent sandstone acid solutions.

Theory
EDTA is a weak acid and it dissociates stepwise as follows, Equations 1-4:
H
4
FDTA H
+
+ H
3
FDTA
-
(1)
H
3
FDTA
-
H
+
+ H
2
FDTA
2-
(2)
H
2
FDTA
2-
H
+
+ HFDTA
3-
(3)
HFDTA
3-
H
+
+ FDTA
4-
(4)
The distribution of the acid species is dependent on both the pH and the dissociation constants as shown in Figure 1. The
dissociation constants of EDTA are: K
a1
= 1.02 E-2, K
a2
= 2.14 E-3, K
a3
= 6.92 E-7, K
a4
= 5.5 E-11 (Serjant et al., 1979;
Perrin et al., 1987). The first dissociation constant of EDTA, K
a1
, is expressed as in Equation 5:
K
a1
= ]
|H
+
]|H
3
FDTA
-
]
|H
4
FDTA]
(5)
Mixtures of EDTA/HF can be prepared using EDTA and ammonium biflouride salts, Equation 6. The solution pH value
will determine the the main H
+
specie donator. For example, at low pH of less than 2, H
4
EDTa will be the H
+
donating specie.
H
4
FDTA H
+
+ H
3
FDTA
-
(1)
H
+
+ NH
4
FHF 2 HF + NH
4
+
(6)
The produced HF acid will dissociate to produce H
+
and fluoride ions, Figure 2. Additionally, it will react with different
sandstone minerals, quartz and clays and calcite, Equations 7-9:
HF H
+
+ F
-
, pK
a
= 3.170 (Perrin et al., 1987) (7)
SiO
2
+ 4HF SiF
4 +
2H
2
O (Yokel, 2002) (8)
Al
2
Si
2
O
5
(OH)
4
+ 18HF 2H
2
SiF
6
+ 2Al
3+
+ 6F
-
+ 9H
2
O (Yokel, 2002) (9)
The interaction of dissolved calcium and aluminum ions with fluoride ions can result in the precipitation of calcium and
aluminum fluoride (Crowe, 1986), Equation 10 and 11:
2F
-
+ Ca
2+
CaF
2
(10)
3F
-
+ Al
3+
AlF
3
(11)
Al-Harbi et al. (2011) and Al-Mohammad et al. (2011) have reported that the precipitation of both aluminum and calcium
fluoride is mainly dependent on solution pH value. In EDTA/HF solutions, the presence of EDTA will prevent the
precipitation of both calcium and aluminum fluoride.
EDTA is an excellent chelating agent for calcium and aluminum ions. Equations 12 and 13 show the reaction of
tetrasodium EDTA with calcium and aluminum ions:
Na
4
FDTA + Ca
2+
CaNa
2
FDTA + 2Na
+
(12)
Na
4
FDTA + A|
3+
A|NaFDTA + 3Na
+
(13)
The EDTA-ion complex is stable because of chelation bonds, Figure 3. Similarly, EDTA is an excellent chelating agent
for both magnesium and iron Equations 14 and 15:
Na
4
FDTA + Mg
2+
MgNa
2
FDTA + 2Na
+
(14)
Na
4
FDTA + Fe
3+
FeNaFDTA + 3Na
+
(15)
IPTC 16969 3
The chelating agent affinity for an ion is defined by the formation constant, K
F
, Equations 16 and 17:
A
n-
+M
M+
MA
(m-n)
(16)
K
F
=
|MA
(m-n)
]
|M
m+
]|A
n-
]
(17)
The larger the formation constant, the stronger is the chelating agent-ion complex. Table 1 lists the formation constants of
EDTA with calcium, magnesium and iron (III) cations.

Experimental Studies
Materials
Sodium EDTA solution and ammonium bi-fluoride salt were obtained from local service company and it was used as is.
Different EDTA/HF mixtures were prepared using ammonium bi-fluoride, sodium EDTA solution and distilled water with a
resistivity greater than 18.cm at room temperature. The pH of fresh EDTA/HF mixtures ranged between 4 and 5. Table 2
gives the chemical compositions of all EDTA/HF mixtures used in this study.
Calcium chloride hexa-hydrate and aluminum chloride hexa-hydrate salts were obtained from Fisher Scientific Company
with purity of more than 99%.

Experimental procedure
The interaction between EDTA/HF acid and calcium ion was investigated at 25C and atmospheric pressure. The
experiments were conducted using different EDTA/ammonium biflouride salt concentrations. The EDTA content ranged from
30 to 50 wt% while ammonium bifluouride salt was used at 0.5 and 1 wt%, Table 2. Each EDTA/HF mixture was placed in
five different plastic test tubes, each containing 10 ml of live acid mixture. The first test tube contained 0.1 g of calcium
chloride salt. Then calcium chloride salt was added in increment of 0.1 g to the following tubes until the last tube contained
0.5 g. In some tubes, a precipitate was noted in the test tubes. This precipitate was filtered and the supernatant was analyzed.
Following the same procedure, the interaction between EDTA/HF mixture and aluminum ion was investigated at 25C and
atmospheric pressure.
The calcium and aluminum concentrations in collected reactive fluid samples were measured using inductivity coupled
plasma (ICP). To measure the pH value of the collected samples, an Orion model 250A meter and Cole Parmer Ag/AgCl
single junction pH electrode were used. Collected solid samples were analyzed using X-Ray Powder Diffraction (XRD) and
ESEM.

Results and Discussion
The interaction between different EDTA/Ammonium biflouride (ABF) mixtures and calcium and aluminum ions was
investigated at 25C and atmospheric pressure. The effects of both EDTA/ABF ratio and dissolved amount of both calcium
and aluminum ions on this interaction were also investigated.
Figure 4 shows the amount of dissolved calcium in different EDTA/1.0 wt% ABF mixtures as a function of added amount
of calcium chloride salt at 25C and atmospheric pressure. In these solutions, the average pH value ranged from 4.5 to 4.7.
Additionally, all different mixtures showed comparable performance. For example, 30 wt% EDTA-1.0 wt% ABF was able to
hold up to 10,000 ppm of dissolved calcium ions without precipitating calcium fluoride, as was noticed with regular 9
wt%HCl/1 wt% HF acid (AlKhaldi et al. 2011). Similarly, both 40 and 50 wt% EDTA-1.0 wt% ABF systems were able to
hold 10,000 ppm of dissolved calcium ions with no sign of calcium fluoride precipitation. A different trend was noted when
the ABF wt% was decreased to 0.5 wt%.
Figure 5 shows the amount of dissolved calcium in different EDTA/0.5 wt% ABF mixtures as a function of added amount
of calcium chloride salt at 25C and atmospheric pressure. Average pH in these solutions ranged from 4.0 to 4.3. The average
maximum calcium level these solutions could hold was nearly 6,500 ppm. This is lower than the value noted with EDTA-1.0
wt% ABF mixtures. This is mainly attributed to difference in the solution pH values. At higher pH values, as the case in
EDTA-1.0 wt% ABF mixtures, there are more chelation cites for calcium ions (AlKhaldi et al. 2011). All additional amounts
of calcium ions above 6,500 ppm precipitated as calcium fluoride, photo 1.
Figure 6 shows the amount of dissolved aluminum in different EDTA/0.5 wt% ABF mixtures as a function of added
amount of aluminum chloride salt at 25C and atmospheric pressure. It is well known that solution containing both aluminum
and fluoride ions will precipitate aluminum fluoride if the pH value exceeds 2.5 (Shuchart 1996, 1997). However, it is
obvious from Figure 6 that all EDTA/0.5 wt% ABF mixtures were able to hold up to 5,000 ppm of aluminum ion without
precipitating aluminum fluoride. Additionally, these mixtures had comparable performance. Initially it was thought that
aluminum fluoride did not precipitate due to the ability of EDTA to chelate aluminum ions. However, different trend was
noted in EDTA/ABF mixtures when the ABF amount was increased to 1.0 wt%.
Figure 7 shows the amount of dissolved aluminum in different EDTA/1.0 wt% ABF mixtures as a function of added
amount of aluminum chloride salt at 25C and atmospheric pressure. Initially, in these systems aluminum fluoride precipitated
when aluminum ions were added, Photo 2. Then, no precipitation occurred in test tubes that contained more than 2,000 ppm
of aluminum. It was also interesting to note that the aluminum fluoride precipitation re-dissolved when aluminum level was
4 IPTC 16969
above nearly 2,000 ppm. This trend indicated that there is a critical F/Al molar ratio above which aluminum fluoride
precipitation will occur. From Figures 8 and 9, this critical ratio was found to be nearly 1.9.

Conclusions
The interaction between different EDTA-HF mixtures and calcium and aluminum ions was investigated. The effects of
different parameters such as solution pH value, temperature and EDTA/ABF ratio were investigated. The following
conclusions can be drawn:
1. All different EDTA/1.0 wt% ABF had comparable performance where they were able to hold up to 10,000 ppm of
calcium ions with no calcium fluoride precipitation.
2. Calcium fluoride precipitated in EDTA/0.5 wt% ABF mixtures when the level of dissolved calcium ions exceeded
6,500 ppm
3. Aluminum fluoride precipitation was not noted in all EDTA/0.5 wt% ABF mixtures. This was because that the F/Al
molar ratio did not exceed 1.9 in these mixtures.
4. Initially aluminum fluoride precipitation was noted in all EDTA/1.0 wt% ABF mixtures when the dissolved
aluminum level was below 2,000 ppm
5. Aluminum fluoride precipitation did not occur or re-dissolved in all EDTA/1.0 wt% ABF mixtures when dissolved
aluminum level was above 2,000 ppm, F/Al molar ratio was above 1.9.

Acknowledgments
The authors wish to acknowledge Saudi Aramco for granting permission to present and publish this paper. Special thanks go to
the Chemistry and Advanced Instruments Units of the R&D Center for their analysis of different solutions and solids.

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IPTC 16969 5
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6 IPTC 16969
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Table 1: The formation constants of EDTA with different ions.
Ion
Formation constant,
log K
F
*
at 25C
Calcium, Ca
2+
10.70
Magnesium, Mg
2+
8.69
Iron (III), Fe
3+
25.7
*
Martell and Smith 1976.


Table 2: Different on-step acid formulations used in this study.

EDTA ABF
Stock solution
Total solution
weight, g wt% Weight, g wt% Weight, g H
2
O, g
1 120 30% 36 1% 1.2 82.8
2 120 30% 36 0.50% 0.6 83.4
3 120 40% 48 1% 1.2 70.8
4 120 40% 48 0.50% 0.6 71.4
5 120 50% 60 1% 1.2 58.8
6 120 50% 60 0.50% 0.6 59.4











IPTC 16969 7

Figure 1: Distribution of EDTA species as a function of solution pH value at 25C (Serjant et al. 1979, Perrin et al. 1981).



Figure 2: Distribution of HF species as a function of solution pH value at 25C (Serjant et al. 1979, Perrin et al. 1981).

0.00
0.20
0.40
0.60
0.80
1.00
0.0 2.0 4.0 6.0 8.0 10.0 12.0 14.0

pH
HEDTA
3-
EDTA
4-
0.00
0.20
0.40
0.60
0.80
1.00
0.0 2.0 4.0 6.0 8.0 10.0 12.0 14.0

pH
HF
H4EDTA
H3EDTA
-

H2EDTA
2-

F
-
pH = 0.65
Onset of free F
-

8 IPTC 16969

Figure 3: Octahedral geometry of 1:1 metal-EDTA ion complex (Permyakov and Kretsinger 2011).




Figure 4: Dissolved calcium ions in different EDTA/1.0 wt% ABF mixtures as a function of added amount of calcium
chloride salt at 25C and atmospheric pressure.

0
2000
4000
6000
8000
10000
12000
0 0.1 0.2 0.3 0.4 0.5 0.6
D
i
s
s
o
l
v
e
d

C
a
2
+
,

p
p
m
Added amount of CaCl
2
.6H
2
O, g
30wt%EDTA
40wt%EDTA
50wt%EDTA
Average pH = 4.5-4.7
Line of theoritical
Ca concentration
IPTC 16969 9

Figure 5: Dissolved calcium ions in different EDTA/0.5 wt% ABF mixtures as a function of added amount of calcium
chloride salt at 25C and atmospheric pressure.




Figure 6: Dissolved aluminum ions in different EDTA/0.5 wt% ABF mixtures as a function of added amount of aluminum
chloride salt at 25C and atmospheric pressure.
0
1000
2000
3000
4000
5000
6000
7000
8000
0 0.1 0.2 0.3 0.4 0.5 0.6
D
i
s
s
o
l
v
e
d

C
a
2
+
,

p
p
m
Added amount of CaCl
2
.6H
2
O, g
30wt%EDTA
40wt%EDTA
50wt%EDTA
Average pH = 4.0-4.3 Line of theoritical
Ca concentration
0
1000
2000
3000
4000
5000
6000
0 0.1 0.2 0.3 0.4 0.5 0.6
D
i
s
s
o
l
v
e
d

A
l
3
+
,

p
p
m
Added amount of AlCl
3
.6H
2
O, g
30wt%EDTA
40wt%EDTA
50wt%EDTA
Line of theoritical
Al concentration
10 IPTC 16969

Figure 7: Dissolved aluminum ions in different EDTA/1.0 wt% ABF mixtures as a function of added amount of aluminum
chloride salt at 25C and atmospheric pressure.


Figure 8: Precipitation of aluminum fluoride as function of F/Al molar ratio in different EDTA/1.0 wt% ABF.
0
1000
2000
3000
4000
5000
6000
0 0.1 0.2 0.3 0.4 0.5 0.6
D
i
s
s
o
l
v
e
d

A
l
3
+
,

p
p
m
Added amount of AlCl
3
.6H
2
O, g
30wt%EDTA
40wt%EDTA
50wt%EDTA
Line of theoritical
Al concentration
0
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
0
500
1000
1500
2000
2500
3000
3500
4000
4500
5000
0 0.1 0.2 0.3 0.4 0.5 0.6
D
i
s
s
o
l
v
e
d

A
l
3
+
,

p
p
m
Added amount of AlCl
3
.6H
2
O, g
50wt%EDTA1.0wt%ABF
F/Alfor50wt%EDTA1.0wt%ABF
Line of theoritical
Al concentration
F/Al moral ratio = 1.9
IPTC 16969 11

Figure 9: Precipitation of aluminum fluoride as function of F/Al molar ratio in different EDTA/0.5 wt% ABF.

Photo 1: XRD analysis of solid material precipitated in different EDTA/0.5 wt% ABF mixtures after adding calcium chloride
salt.






0
0.5
1
1.5
2
2.5
3
3.5
4
4.5
0
1000
2000
3000
4000
5000
6000
0 0.1 0.2 0.3 0.4 0.5 0.6
D
i
s
s
o
l
v
e
d

A
l
3
+
,

p
p
m
Added amount of AlCl
3
.6H
2
O, g
50wt%EDTA0.5wt%ABF
F/Alfor50wt%EDTA0.5wt%ABF
Line of theoritical
Al concentration
F/Al moral ratio = 1.9
Filtered solid
sample
CaF2
NaCl
12 IPTC 16969




Photo 2: ESEM analysis of solid material precipitated in different EDTA/1.0 wt% ABF mixtures after adding aluminum
chloride salt.


AlF
3