Anti-agglomerant performance of surfactants evaluated in cyclopentane hydrate and CH4/C3H8 gas hydrate systems

Abstract

The main objective of this work was to evaluate and compare the AA performance of surfactants of different affinity in cyclopentane (CP) hydrate and gas (methane – propane mixture) hydrate systems. The study was performed with two surfactants: Noramium® DA 50 and Inipol® AH 81, which are respectively water-soluble and dispersible in water. Their AA performance was evaluated and compared without or with 4 wt% NaCl. A comparative study of the effect of the surfactants on the water/CP interfacial activity was carried out by surface pressure measurements. The impact of the surfactants on hydrate formation and morphology was observed by microscopic observations at the water/CP interface. Lastly, the AA performance of DA 50 and AH 81, was evaluated at the macroscopic scale in a batch reactor under agitation. The experiments in reactor were performed in oil-dominated systems (70 vol%) with CP as the oil phase in the CP hydrate system, and n-octane in the gas hydrate one.