Kinetics of methane hydrate formation and its dissociation in presence of non-ionic surfactant Tergitol

Abstract

The kinetics of methane hydrate formation and its dissociation has been studied in presence of a nonionic surfactant Tergitol. Experiments were performed with 0ppt, 1ppt, 5ppt, and 10ppt of Tergitol in water. The experimental results show that a certain degree of subcooilng is required to initiate hydrate formation. Phase equilibrium pressure and temperature has been investigated extensively. It is observed that the phase equilibrium curves of methane hydrate are not affected on varying the concentration of Tergitol. It is found that the rate of hydrate formation varies with concentration of Tergitol. The kinetic rate constant is also found to vary with concentration of Tergitol during growth of hydrate. Induction time of hydrate formation has also been studied under different experimental conditions. The gas consumption is computed using real gas equation and it is found that 10ppt Tergitol resulted in highest consumption of gas.