Abstract
In this study, series of non-ionic surfactants from Span and Tween are evaluated for their ability to affect the viscosity profile of cyclopentane hydrate slurry. The surfactants; Span 20, Span 40, Span 80, Tween 20, Tween 40 and Tween 80 were selected and tested to provide different hydrophilic–hydrophobic balance values and allow evaluation their solubility impact on hydrate formation and growth time. The study was performed by using a HAAKE ViscotesterTM 500 at 2 °C and a surfactant concentration ranging from 0.1 wt%–1 wt%. The solubility characteristic of the non-ionic surfactants changed the hydrate slurry in different ways with surfactants type and varying concentration. The rheological measurement suggested that oil-soluble Span surfactants was generally inhibitive to hydrate formation by extending the hydrate induction time. However, an opposite effect was observed for the Tween surfactants. On the other hand, both Span and Tween demonstrated promoting effect to accelerate hydrate growth time of cyclopentane hydrate formation. The average hydrate crystallization growth time of the blank sample was reduced by 86% and 68% by Tween and Span surfactants at 1 wt%, respectively. The findings in this study are useful to understand the rheological behavior of surfactants in hydrate slurry.
Highlights
Clathrate hydrates— known as gas hydrates—are solid compounds that form when a suitable size substance is encapsulated in a 3-dimensional network water cage held together through hydrogen bonding [1,2,3]
The average hydrate crystallization time of the blank sample was reduced by 86% and 68% by Tweens and Spans surfactants at 1.0 wt%, respectively
The results revealed that the oil-soluble Span surfactants
Summary
Clathrate hydrates— known as gas hydrates—are solid compounds that form when a suitable size substance (gas/liquid) is encapsulated in a 3-dimensional network water cage held together through hydrogen bonding [1,2,3]. The encapsulating substances are typically light hydrocarbons or small gaseous molecules such as methane, ethane, propane, nitrogen and carbon dioxide. The presence of these small substances known as hydrate formers stabilizes the gas hydrate structure by a weak van der Waals force. Depending on the arrangement of the water molecules constructing the hydrate crystals network, hydrates structures can be classified as Type I and Type II—sometimes referred to as Structure I and Structure II. A third type of hydrate that may be encountered is Type
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