Effects of antiagglomerants on the interactions between hydrate particles

Abstract

Abstract Hydrate inbibition in natural gas production by antiagglomeration is promising because of effectiveness at high subcoolings encountered in many offshore operations. There are various mechanisms that are believed to contribute to the repulsion and attraction of hydrate particles. These include: (1) steric, (2) dispersion, (3) capillary, and (4) shear forces. Some of the expressions derived, and some formulas are used from the literature to provide a theoretical analysis of the forces between two hydrate particles to examine antiagglomeration using surfactants. Results show that hydrate particle size has the most important effect on antiagglomeration. Results also show that the contact angle increase and the oil‐water interfacial tension decrease will either reduce capillary forces significantly or eliminate it. Effective antiagglomerants reduce the size, decrease interfacial tension, and increase contact angle through the water phase. © 2007 American Institute of Chemical Engineers AIChE J, 2008