R12 hydrate formation kinetics based on laser light scattering technique

Gas hydrates are non-stoichiometric crystalline compounds of water with gas at a certain temperature and pressure. Compared to the thermodynamics of hydrate formation, our knowledge on the kinetics aspect is rather immature. It is well known that the kinetics of hydrate formation/dissociation plays an important role in many industrial cases, such as the exploitation of methane hydrate underground, the storage and transportation of natural gas in solid hydrate state, the inhibition of hydrate i…

R12 hydrate formation kinetics based on laser light scattering technique

A circulating flow system consisting of a transparent U-bend flow loop, a mixing tank and a laser granulometer was set up for studying the kinetics hydrate formation and the pressure is up to 4 MPa. Refrigerant CCl2F2 (R12) hydrate formation experiments were performed using laser light scattering method at 277.1 K and pressures of 0.24 and 0.32 MPa. The liquid flow rates were in the range of 300-1400 L/h. The size distribution and density of R12 hydrate particles in pure water were measured using a laser granulometer. Experimental results show that the size of hydrate particles increases sharply at the initial stage and approaches gradually to a stable size. The hydrate particle concentration in the aqueous phase increases with pressure and circulating liquid flow rate. Based on the material balance, the mathematical model among gas consumption, average hydrate particle size and shading ratio has been established. The calculated results using the mathematical model accord well with the experimental gas consumption data.