Probing the effect of amino acid-based ionic liquids on the CO2 (sI) and THF (sII) hydrate formation

Abstract

In the present work, four acetyl glycinate-based ionic liquids (ILs) with distinct cations, namely 1-alkyl-3-methylimidazolium acetyl glycinate [C2mim][AcGly], ammonium acetyl glycinate [NH4][AcGly], N-(2-hydroxyethyl)-N,N,N-trimethyl ammonium N-acetylglycinate [N111(2OH)][AcGly] ≈ [Ch][AcGly], and N-Butyl-N,N-dimethyl-N-(2-hydroxyethyl) ammonium N-acetylglycinate [N411(2OH)][AcGly] ≈ [C4Ch][AcGly], were synthesized and tested for their effect on the formation of CO2 hydrates at elevated pressures and tetrahydrofuran (THF) hydrate formation at atmospheric pressure. The phase behaviour of the CO2 hydrates, sI type, was studied in the presence of the selected ILs using the isochoric pressure search method. The ILs shifted the phase boundary towards lower temperatures indicating a thermodynamic inhibition characteristic. The constant cooling method was used to determine the onset nucleation temperature of CO2 hydrates in the presence and absence of additives. The isothermal method was used to determine the induction time of CO2 hydrates in the presence of additives. The pressure drops in both experiments indicate the hydrate growth in the absence/presence of additives. Later, the THF hydrate crystal growth experiments at atmospheric pressure were carried out to understand the effect of additives on the sII-type hydrate growth. The crystal morphology also points out the mode of action of the tested additives on hydrate formation and growth. The extensive testing using the same additives at identical concentrations revealed the importance of the method and conditions, which become crucial in the absence of a standard screening procedure for kinetic hydrate additives.