Kinetic studies of gas hydrate formation with low-dosage hydrate inhibitors

Pipeline blockage by gas hydrates is a serious problem in the petroleum industry. Low-dosage inhibitors have been developed for its cost-effective and environmentally acceptable characteristics. In a 1.072-L reactor with methane, ethane and propane gas mixture under the pressure of about 8.5 MPa at 4 °C, hydrate formation was investigated with low-dosage hydrate inhibitors PVP and GHI1, the change of the compressibility factor and gas composition in the gas phase was analyzed, the gas contents in hydrates were compared with PVP and GHI1 added, and the inhibition mechanism of GHI1 was discussed. The results show that PVP and GHI1 could effectively inhibit the growth of gas hydrates but not nucleation. Under the experimental condition with PVP added, methane and ethane occupied the small cavities of the hydrate crystal unit and the ability of ethane entering into hydrate cavities was weaker than that of methane. GHI1 could effectively inhibit molecules which could more readily form hydrates. The ether and hydroxy group of diethylene glycol monobutyl ether have the responsibility for stronger inhibition ability of GHI1 than PVP.     

Spectroscopic observation of atomic hydrogen radicals entrapped in icy hydrogen hydrate

A hydrogen molecule entrapped in the cages of icy hydrogen hydrate is confined in host water framework and thus behaves unlike pure solid or liquid hydrogen. The gamma-irradiated hydrogen radicals are for the first time observed from ESR and solid-state MAS 1H NMR spectra to stably exist in the icy hydrate channels without any collapse of the host framework, confirming the chemical shift consistency of ionized hydrogen derivatives. We discuss the confined icy hydrate channels, which can act as potential storage sites for simultaneously imprisoning both molecular and ionized hydrogen and further as icy nanoreactors.     

含低剂量抑制剂体系气体水合物生成动力学

水合物管道堵塞是油气工业安全生产的重要问题之一, 目前低剂量抑制剂以其经济性、环境友好性等优点, 逐步取代传统抑制剂. 文中在8.5 MPa、4 ℃条件下, 1.072 L反应釜内, 采用甲烷、乙烷和丙烷混和气, 研究了含低剂量抑制剂聚乙烯吡咯烷酮(PVP)和GHI1的水合物生成体系反应过程, 计算分析了压缩因子和自由气量随反应时间的变化, 对比了在相同反应程度下添加PVP和GHI1后水合物含气量的区别, 探讨了GHI1组合抑制剂的抑制机理. 实验结果表明PVP和GHI1能抑制水合物生长, 不能有效抑制水合物成核; 添加PVP的体系, 在实验气体组成下, 甲烷乙烷进入水合物小晶穴, 并且甲烷优先进入小晶穴; GHI1对丙烷乙烷的抑制能力强于甲烷; 对比GHI1和PVP的反应过程, 认为协同剂二乙二醇丁醚的羟基和醚类结构加强反应体系中的氢键, 和PVP结合使用, 通过氢键和空阻达到抑制效果.     

Spectroscopic observation of critical guest concentration appearing in tert-butyl alcohol clathrate hydrate

The tert-butyl alcohol (TBA) is the most hydrophobic of the simple alcohol and by itself does not form a clathrate hydrate with water. A genuine clathrate hydrate is synthesized by exposing a gaseous guest to solid TBA + H2O powders. Here, we examine three consecutive spectroscopic approaches of (1) the occurrence of a "free" OH stretching band (nu(OH)) signal of TBA molecules representing an absence of hydrogen bonding between the host water and guest TBA, (2) a tuning effect for creating fresh cages via the rearrangement of the host-water lattice, and finally (3) the existence of a critical guest concentration (CGC) that appears only when the TBA concentration is dilute. The present findings from this simple three-step approach can be extended to other alcoholic guest species with the specific modifications to provide the new insights into inclusion chemistry.     

Spectroscopic signatures of halogens in clathrate hydrate cages. 2. Iodine

UV-vis and Raman spectroscopy were used to study iodine molecules trapped in sII clathrate hydrate structures stabilized by THF, CH(2)Cl(2), or CHCl(3). The spectra show that the environment for iodine inside the water cage is significantly less perturbed than either in aqueous solution or in amorphous water-ice. The resonance Raman progression of I(2) in THF clathrate hydrate can be observed up to v = 6 when excited at 532 nm. The extracted vibrational frequency omega e = 214 +/- 1 cm(-1) is the same as that of the free molecule to within experimental error. At the same time, the UV-vis absorption spectrum of I(2) in the sII hydrate exhibits a relatively large, 1440 cm(-1), blue-shift. This is mainly ascribed to the differential solvation of the I(2) electronic states. We conclude that iodine in sII hydrate resides in a 5(12)6(4) cavity, in which the ground-state I(2) potential is not significantly perturbed by the hydrate lattice. In contrast, in water and in ice, the valence absorption band of I(2) is dramatically broadened and blue-shifted by 3000 cm(-1), and the resonance Raman scattering is effectively quenched. These observations are shown to be consistent with a strong interaction between water molecule and iodine through the lone pair of electrons on water as in the case of bromine in the same media. The results presented here, and the stability of other halogen hydrates, were used to test the predictions of simple models and force-field calculations of the host cage-guest association energy.     

Spectroscopic signatures of halogens in clathrate hydrate cages. 1. Bromine

We report the first UV-vis spectroscopic study of bromine molecules confined in clathrate hydrate cages. Bromine in its natural hydrate occupies 51262 and 51263 lattice cavities. Bromine also can be encapsulated into the larger 51264 cages of a type II hydrate formed mainly from tetrahydrofuran or dichloromethane and water. The visible spectra of the enclathrated halogen molecule retain the spectral envelope of the gas-phase spectra while shifting to the blue. In contrast, spectra of bromine in liquid water or amorphous ice are broadened and significantly more blue-shifted. The absorption bands shift by about 360 cm-1 for bromine in large 51264 cages of type II clathrate, by about 900 cm-1 for bromine in a combination of 51262 and 51263 cages of pure bromine hydrate, and by more than 1700 cm-1 for bromine in liquid water or amorphous ice. The dramatic shift and broadening in water and ice is due to the strong interaction of the water lone-pair orbitals with the halogen sigma* orbital. In the clathrate hydrates, the oxygen lone-pair orbitals are all involved in the hydrogen-bonded water lattice and are thus unavailable to interact with the halogen guest molecule. The blue shifts observed in the clathrate hydrate cages are related to the spatial constraints on the halogen excited states by the cage walls.     

Molecular dynamics study of gas hydrate formation

Long-time-scale molecular dynamics simulations are presented of the spontaneous formation of methane hydrate at a methane/liquid water interface. The water film was prepared at 300 K, 30 bar and showed no significant hydrate order. On crash cooling to 250 K, 300 bar (about 20 K subcooling), the system showed a rapid growth of hydrate clusters. Contrary to popular models for hydrate nucleation, the clusters formed first as two-dimensional arrangements and only later into three-dimensional cage structures; the results are, however, consistent with the local order model proposed recently. The hydrate clusters showed clear signatures of the type II hydrate structure even though the type I structure is the thermodynamically stable form for methane hydrate; this is in accord with the results of recent diffraction experiments.     

A new high performance gas hydrate inhibitor

In petroleum exploration and production operations, gas hydrates pose serious flow assurance, economic and safety concerns. Thermodynamic inhibitors are widely used to reduce the risks associated with gas hydrate formation. In the present study, systematic laboratory work was undertaken to determine synergistic effects between methanol and a Poly Vinyl Methyl Ether as Low Dosage Hydrate Inhibitors (LDHIs). A valuable effect was discovered at a certain ratio of methanol to the low dosage hydrate inhibitor.     

Spectroscopic identification of the mixed hydrogen and carbon dioxide clathrate hydrate

In this contribution, we first found the novel clathrate hydrate containing two gaseous guests of hydrogen and carbon dioxide by spectroscopic analysis. X-ray powder diffraction and NMR spectroscopy were used to identify structure and guest distribution of the mixed H2 + CO2 hydrate. X-ray diffraction result confirmed that the unit cell parameter was 11.8602 +/- 0.0010 A, and the formed hydrate was identified as structure I hydrate. 1H magic angle spinning (MAS) NMR and 13C cross-polarization (CP) NMR spectroscopy were used to examine the distribution of hydrogen and carbon dioxide molecules in the cages of structure I, respectively. These NMR spectra showed that carbon dioxide molecules occupied both small 512 cages and large 51262 cages, and hydrogen molecules only were occluded in small 512 cages of structure I. The new finding of the mixed hydrogen hydrate is expected to contribute toward the development of hydrogen production technology and, particularly, inclusion chemistry.     

Natural gas hydrate shell model in gas-slurry pipeline flow

A hydrate shell model coupled with one-dimensional two-fluid pipe flow model was established to study the flow characteristics of gas-hydrate slurry flow system. The hydrate shell model was developed with kinetic limitations and mass transfer limitations, and it was solved by Euler method. The analysis of influence factors was performed. It was found that the diffusion coefficient was a key parameter in hydrate forming process. Considering the hydrate kinetics model and the contacting area between gas and water, the hydrate shell model was more close to its practical situations.     

Detecting gas hydrate behavior in crude oil using NMR

Because of the associated experimental difficulties, natural gas hydrate behavior in black oil is poorly understood despite its grave importance in deep-water flow assurance. Since the hydrate cannot be visually observed in black oil, traditional methods often rely on gas pressure changes to monitor hydrate formation and dissociation. Because gases have to diffuse through the liquid phase for hydrate behavior to create pressure responses, the complication of gas mass transfer is involved and hydrate behavior is only indirectly observed. This pressure monitoring technique encounters difficulties when the oil phase is too viscous, the amount of water is too small, or the gas phase is absent. In this work we employ proton nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy to observe directly the liquid-to-solid conversion of the water component in black oil emulsions. The technique relies on two facts. The first, well-known, is that water becomes essentially invisible to liquid state NMR as it becomes immobile, as in hydrate or ice formation. The second, our recent finding, is that in high magnetic fields of sufficient homogeneity, it is possible to distinguish water from black oil spectrally by their chemical shifts. By following changes in the area of the water peak, the process of hydrate conversion can be measured, and, at lower temperatures, the formation of ice. Taking only seconds to accomplish, this measurement is nearly direct in contrast to conventional techniques that measure the pressure changes of the whole system and assume these changes represent formation or dissociation of hydrates - rather than simply changes in solubility. This new technique clearly can provide accurate hydrate thermodynamic data in black oils. Because the technique measures the total mobile water with rapidity, extensions should prove valuable in studying the dynamics of phase transitions in emulsions.     

Liquid chromatographic methods for chloral hydrate determination

Liquid chromatographic methods, based on reversed-phase (RP) and anion-exchange mechanisms, have been developed for chloral hydrate determination. Both methods are preceeded by derivatization of chloral hydrate. For RP separations, different reagents [namely dansylhydrazine and o-(4-nitrobenzyl)hydroxylamine] have been studied, but the best results have been achieved using 1,2-benzenedithiol with UV detection at 220 nm. The anion-exchange method is based on derivatization with NaOH to form sodium formate that is then analyzed by anion-exchange, with suppressed conductivity detection. Derivatization conditions were optimized in order to reach the best yield of reaction. The optimization of the procedure allowed to determine chloral hydrate with detection limits as low as 0.2 μg/l with good linearity and reproducibility. The anion-exchange method was also applied for chloral hydrate determination in a drinking water sample. A preconcentration procedure has also been studied.     

Kinetics of hydrate formation using gas bubble suspended in water

An innovative experimental technique, which was devised to study the effects of temperature and pressure on the rate of hydrate formation at the surface of a gas bubble suspended in a stagnant water phase, was adapted in this work. Under such conditions, the hydrate-growth process is free from dynamic mass transfer factors. The rate of hydrate formation of methane and carbon dioxide has been systematically studied. The measured hydrate-growth data were correlated by using the molar Gibbs free energy as driving force. In the course of the experiments, some interesting surface phenomena were observed.     

Modeling heating curve for gas hydrate dissociation in porous media

A method for modeling the heating curve for gas hydrate dissociation in porous media at isochoric conditions (constant cell volume) is presented. This method consists of using an equation of state of the gas, the cumulative volume distribution (CVD) of the porous medium, and a van der Waals-Platteeuw-type thermodynamic model that includes a capillary term. The proposed method was tested to predict the heating curves for methane hydrate dissociation in a mesoporous silica glass for saturated conditions (liquid volume = pore volume) and for a fractional conversion of water to hydrate of 1 (100% of the available water was converted to hydrate). The shape factor (F) of the hydrate-water interface was found equal to 1, supporting a cylindrical shape for the hydrate particles during hydrate dissociation. Using F = 1, it has been possible to predict the heating curve for different ranges of pressure and temperature. The excellent agreement between the calculated and experimental heating curves supports the validity of our approach.     

二维气相色谱法分析天然气水合物区沉积物间隙水中示踪气体的浓度

利用微流路控制技术中心切割装置(Deans Switch)、两根色谱柱(PoraPLOT Q和Molsieve 5A)和3个检测器(脉冲氦离子化检测器、火焰光度检测器、热导检测器),建立了一种二维气相色谱分析系统,实现了海洋中多种示踪气体组分(氢气、甲烷、二氧化碳、硫化氢)的同时分析和精确测定。氢气、甲烷、二氧化碳、硫化氢的含量分别在2～1030、0.6～501、120～10500和0.2～49.1 μmol/mol范围内的校正曲线线性关系良好,检出限分别为0.51、0.17、82和0.08 μmol/mol,10次重复测定含量的相对标准偏差均小于10%。通过对南海天然气水合物区沉积物间隙水顶空气的测定,表明该方法方便、灵敏、可靠,易于实现海上现场测定;与以往采用多种分析方法分别测定示踪气体相比,大大节省了样品量。该方法适用于海洋天然气水合物、海底热液等资源的调查和海洋溶解态气体的研究等。     

Chitosan as green kinetic inhibitors for gas hydrate formation

The kinetic inhibiting effect of a number of chitosans on hydrate formation was investigated using methane and methane/ethane gas mixtures.The results indicated that chitosan was a good kinetic inhibitor.The induction time of gas hydrate formation evidently increased with the degree of deacetylation(DD),however,when DD was higher than 80%,the effect of DD on the induction time was negligible.Moreover,it was found that the molecular weight(MW)of chitosan and the addition of polyethylene oxide(PEO)had little effect on the induction time.The optimal concentration of chitosan was found to be 0.6wt%.Finally,the mechanisms of the kinetic inhibitor on the hydrate formation were discussed.     

Spectroscopic methods of studying enzyme action in wool fibre

Enzymes may be used to develop an environmentally friendly alternative to the conventional polluting technologies in textile finishing. The action of the unlabeled and fluorescent labeled proteolytic enzymes subtilisin and trypsin on wool was examined. Scanning electron micrographs and a diffusion study, based on fluorescence microscopy, localized the enzymatic attack on the fiber. A kinetic study was carried out by monitoring the amino acid content of the treatment liquor. Enzymatic action is not confined to the fiber surface. To limit attack to the surface and reduce wool damage new treatment methods such as enzyme immobilization onto a solid carrier must be investigated.     

Method of gas hydrate formation for evaluation of water desalination

Experimental technique for analysis of hydrate formation processes with an AAS-300 atomic-absorption spectrometer was developed and used to study hydrate formation in a system constituted by water and Freon R-142V.     

Formation of gas hydrate during crystallization of ethane-saturated amorphous ice

Layers of ethane-saturated amorphous ice were prepared by depositing molecular beams of water and gas on a substrate cooled with liquid nitrogen. The heating of the layers was accompanied by vitrification (softening) followed by spontaneous crystallization. Crystallization of condensates under the conditions of deep metastability proceeded with gas hydrate formation. The vitrification and crystallization temperatures of the condensates were determined from the changes in their dielectric properties on heating. The thermal effects of transformations were recorded by differential thermal analysis. The crystallization of the amorphous water layers was studied by electron diffraction. Formation of a metastable packing with elements of a cubic diamond-like structure was noted.