Research of Surfactants Effect on Methane Hydrate Formation with Properties of Biochemical Materials

Abstract

This paper deals with the effects of a surfactant additive on the formation of methane hydrate in water system with and without sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS). The properties of sodium dodecyl sulfate are listed. The results manifested that the presence of SDS could not only accelerate the hydrate formation process, but also increase the partition coefficient of methane between hydrate and vapor drastically. The paper then describes our experimental observations of the hydrate formation from methane, to show how the hydrate formation behaviors are affected by the additives of chamber partially filled with a quiescent pool of water (pure water or an aqueous SDS solution) to compensate for the gas consumption due to the hydrate formation, thereby maintaining a constant pressure inside the chamber. The results revealed that the addition of SDS not only on the liquid-pool surface but also on the chamber walls above the level of the pool surface, leaving the bulk of the liquid pool free from hydrate crystals. An excessive addition of SDS beyond the solubility was found to cause a decrease in the rate of hydrate formation but an increase in the final level of the water-to-hydrate conversion.