Are the amino acids inhibitors or promoters on methane (95%)–propane (5%) hydrate formation?

Abstract

In the present study, the effect of four amino acids is studied for inhibition or promotion of hydrate formation in methane (95%)–propane (5%) mixture-water system. Thus this study reports the impact of leucine, serine, histidine and phenylalanine on mixture hydrate formation with the use of impellers such as: rushton turbine (RT) which has radial flow, pitched blade turbine upward trending (PBTU) and pitched blade turbine downward trending (PBTD) which have mixed flow. Experiments were performed in concentration of 1 wt% at 24.5 bars pressure and 2 °C temperature. Based on experimental outcomes all four amino acids namely leucine, serine, histidine and phenylalanine performed as promoters. Furthermore, RT experiments formed gas hydrates more quickly compared to PBTU and PBTD experiments. Mixed flow single impeller (SI) experiments have higher values of hydrate formation compared to radial flow single impeller experiments.