Investigation of natural gas hydrates formation/decomposition processes in systems consisting of “commercial asphaltene–resin–paraffin deposits and water”

Abstract

Results obtained in a study of the natural gas hydrate formation in model systems consisting of various proportions from commercial paraffinic type Asphaltene–Resin–Paraffin Deposits (ARPDs) and distilled water were considered. The synthesis and decomposition of hydrates in the systems under study were performed in a DSC calorimetric cell and in high-pressure chambers-reactors. The thermobaric conditions of phase transitions and the kinetics of formation and decomposition of natural gas hydrates in paraffin deposits and water were determined. It was found that specific features of the hydrate formation process in the systems under study reflect upon the shapes of crystallization isotherm signals. The hydrate formation process favors coalescence of dispersed water drops in the samples under study and leads to formation of coarse water fragments. In the presence of the ARPD, the curve of equilibrium hydrate formation conditions shifts to high pressures.