Identification of aluminum scale with the aid of synthetically produced basic aluminum fluoride complexes

Aluminum scaling can be a problem following HF acidizing. In this paper, a series of synthetic aluminum scales was prepared and identified. The aluminum compounds of a field scale were identified with similar procedures. Recent field work showed that the use of acetic acid in the HF acidizing sequences significantly decreased scaling. The role of acetic acid is discussed on the basis of laboratory support of these field data.