Comparative performance of polymeric inhibitors in prevention of gas hydrate formation

Pipeline blockage by gas hydrates is a serious problem in the petroleum industry. Kinetic hydrate inhibitors (KHIs), which are water soluble polymers have been successfully used inrecent years to prevent gas hydrate formation mostly in gas and oil field production lines [1]. They work by delaying thenucleation and usually the crystal growth of gas hydrates. There are currently only two main classes of polymers, which are used in KHI formulations in oil and gas fields:homopolymers or copolymers of vinyl caprolactam and hyperbranched poly (ester amide)s [2]. In this work, the performance of two polymeric inhibitors: 1:1vinyl caprolactam-vinyl pyrrolidone copolymer (VCap -VP) and poly (vinyl caprolactam) (PVCap) in prevention of gas hydrate formation have been compared