Kinetic study of ethylene hydrate formation in presence of graphene oxide and sodium dodecyl sulfate

Abstract

The effects of synthesized graphene oxide suspension at concentrations of 50, 150 and 250ppm and aqueous solution of sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) at concentrations of 50, 100, 300 and 500ppm on kinetics of ethylene hydrate formation were studied. The induction time was measured at 4°C and initial pressures of 14 and 16bar, and the effective storage capacity was measured at 1.5°C and initial pressure of 30bar. The results indicated that although both graphene oxide suspension and SDS solution in the whole range of experimental concentrations reduced the induction time of ethylene hydrate formation, graphene oxide was more effective in decreasing the induction time. The minimum induction time was obtained when 150ppm graphene oxide suspension was used, which indicated an average decrease of 96% compared to pure water. In addition, the effective storage capacity measurements showed that additives at low concentrations did not promote the effective storage capacity noticeably, while graphene oxide suspension at 150 and 250ppm as well as SDS solution at 300 and 500ppm promoted the effective storage capacity of ethylene hydrate significantly. SDS showed better performance in increasing the effective storage capacity, as the highest effective storage capacity was attained by using 300ppm SDS solution, suggesting 259.8% improvement in comparison to pure water.