Experimental Study and Modeling of Methane Hydrate Formation Induction Time in the Presence of Ionic Liquids

Gas hydrate formation has been referred as unfavorable phenomenon since it leads to blockage of pipelines. To prevent formation of these compounds, several methods are normally pursued including system heating, depressurization, water removal, and use of gas hydrate formation inhibitors. The latter technique may be the most practical method for this purpose. Two types of inhibitors are generally used in the industry: thermodynamic inhibitors and kinetic ones. Thermodynamic inhibitors (such as ethylene glycol and methanol) shift the hydrate-liquid-vapor- (HLV) equilibrium curve to lower temperature and higher-pressure conditions. Kinetic inhibitors (such as PVP, PVCap) delay the hydrate nucleation and growth rates. There are some evidences that ionic liquids have dual inhibition effects. In this communication, we use three ionic liquids including (BMIM-BF4), (BMIM-DCA), and (TEACL). Methane hydrate formation induction time in the presence of different concentrations of these three ionic liquids is kinetically investigated in this work. Consequently, the effects of initial pressure and ionic liquids concentration on the induction time can be evaluated. In addition, a three parameter semi-empirical model is developed on the basis of chemical kinetics theory. Finally, it is shown that the proposed semi-empirical model has a good accuracy in comparison with the experimental data

Keywords:

Methane hydrate , Kinetics , Ionic liquids , Induction time , Inhibitors