The effect of NaCl concentration and corrosion on cohesion/adhesion forces of structure-II hydrate particles

Abstract

Gas hydrates are ice-like solid compounds formed from water and suitably sized gas molecules under high pressure and low temperature conditions. In typical oil and gas transportation flowlines, when water is present gas hydrates particles can form, agglomerate, and accumulate in the flowlines. These particles can also deposit on flowline walls during fluid flow or during shut-in/restart conditions. The formation of hydrate plugs can cause a blockage in the flowline, as well as other safety concerns. Although researchers have studied how temperature and annealing time would affect the cohesion/adhesion forces between hydrate particles and particle-surface systems, the effects of surface corrosion, salinity and water amount on the adhesion force have not been reported. Deep-water flowlines typically contain brine, and water condensation and corrosion can occur on flowline walls. A water layer and corrosion on flowline walls can affect hydrate film growth and deposition, and salt dissolved in the liquid phase may also influence the agglomeration of hydrate particles. Thus, the effects of free water, corrosion and salt on CH4/C2H6 hydrate particle-particle and particle-surface micromechanical forces are essential for advancing the understanding on hydrate agglomeration and deposition mechanisms in gas dominated deep-water pipelines. In order to investigate the mechanism of gas hydrate deposition and agglomeration in gas dominated flowlines, a high-pressure micromechanical force (MMF) apparatus was applied to directly measure CH4/C2H6 hydrate adhesion/cohesion forces. The influence of NaCl concentration on the cohesion force between CH4/C2H6 hydrate particles was studied, and the effect of surface corrosion on adhesion forces between hydrate particles and carbon steel (CS) were analysed. It was found that the presence of NaCl decreased the cohesion force between hydrate particles, and a possible explanation of this phenomenon was given based on the capillary liquid bridge model. For the adhesion force measurements, the results indicated that with increasing visual corrosion, the adhesion force between gas hydrate particle and CS surface increased by up to 500%.