Specific critical concentrations of low dosage hydrate inhibitors in a THF–NaCl hydrate formation solution

Hydrate formation and its attendant problems are well known in the oil and gas industry. The desire to reduce the costs and environmental impact of traditional hydrate inhibitors has led to a focus on the design, development and evaluation of novel and environmentally friendly low dosage hydrate inh...

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Main Authors: Ding, Ailin, Wang, Shuo, Pelemis, Tina, Crisafio, Carmelo, Lou, Xia
Format: Journal Article
Published: John Wiley & Sons, Ltd 2010
Online Access:http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/37862
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author Ding, Ailin
Wang, Shuo
Pelemis, Tina
Crisafio, Carmelo
Lou, Xia
author_facet Ding, Ailin
Wang, Shuo
Pelemis, Tina
Crisafio, Carmelo
Lou, Xia
author_sort Ding, Ailin
building Curtin Institutional Repository
collection Online Access
description Hydrate formation and its attendant problems are well known in the oil and gas industry. The desire to reduce the costs and environmental impact of traditional hydrate inhibitors has led to a focus on the design, development and evaluation of novel and environmentally friendly low dosage hydrate inhibitors (LDHIs). In this study, two LDHIs, namely Luvicap® EG and Gaffix® VC-713, were tested using tetrahydrofuran (THF) as a hydrate promoter and a ball-stop rig. The ball stop-time was used to determine the inhibition efficiency. The concentration effect of inhibitors, salts and solvents on the ball-stop time was investigated. Results indicated that the inhibition efficiency of an inhibitor is sensitive to the micro-environment of the THF-hydrates activities which includes the concentration and types of these additives. The reproducibility and consistency of the test results were also largely dependent on the concentration of inhibitors. Reliable information was provided only if the concentration of the inhibitor was above a critical concentration, below which the testing results scattered drastically and were inconsistent. As the critical concentration was inhibitor-dependent, a specific critical concentration (SCC) was proposed which is the first reported in such investigations. We concluded that the inhibition efficiency of an LDHI should be determined by both the ball-stop time and its SCC. Comparison of ball-stop times between two inhibitors should be made above their SCCs. Salt and solvent concentrations and other additives present in the operating systems should also be considered when a suitable LDHI concentration is determined for a particular field application.
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institution Curtin University Malaysia
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publishDate 2010
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spelling curtin-20.500.11937-378622017-09-13T14:28:06Z Specific critical concentrations of low dosage hydrate inhibitors in a THF–NaCl hydrate formation solution Ding, Ailin Wang, Shuo Pelemis, Tina Crisafio, Carmelo Lou, Xia Hydrate formation and its attendant problems are well known in the oil and gas industry. The desire to reduce the costs and environmental impact of traditional hydrate inhibitors has led to a focus on the design, development and evaluation of novel and environmentally friendly low dosage hydrate inhibitors (LDHIs). In this study, two LDHIs, namely Luvicap® EG and Gaffix® VC-713, were tested using tetrahydrofuran (THF) as a hydrate promoter and a ball-stop rig. The ball stop-time was used to determine the inhibition efficiency. The concentration effect of inhibitors, salts and solvents on the ball-stop time was investigated. Results indicated that the inhibition efficiency of an inhibitor is sensitive to the micro-environment of the THF-hydrates activities which includes the concentration and types of these additives. The reproducibility and consistency of the test results were also largely dependent on the concentration of inhibitors. Reliable information was provided only if the concentration of the inhibitor was above a critical concentration, below which the testing results scattered drastically and were inconsistent. As the critical concentration was inhibitor-dependent, a specific critical concentration (SCC) was proposed which is the first reported in such investigations. We concluded that the inhibition efficiency of an LDHI should be determined by both the ball-stop time and its SCC. Comparison of ball-stop times between two inhibitors should be made above their SCCs. Salt and solvent concentrations and other additives present in the operating systems should also be considered when a suitable LDHI concentration is determined for a particular field application. 2010 Journal Article http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/37862 10.1002/apj.440 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd restricted
spellingShingle Ding, Ailin
Wang, Shuo
Pelemis, Tina
Crisafio, Carmelo
Lou, Xia
Specific critical concentrations of low dosage hydrate inhibitors in a THF–NaCl hydrate formation solution
title Specific critical concentrations of low dosage hydrate inhibitors in a THF–NaCl hydrate formation solution
title_full Specific critical concentrations of low dosage hydrate inhibitors in a THF–NaCl hydrate formation solution
title_fullStr Specific critical concentrations of low dosage hydrate inhibitors in a THF–NaCl hydrate formation solution
title_full_unstemmed Specific critical concentrations of low dosage hydrate inhibitors in a THF–NaCl hydrate formation solution
title_short Specific critical concentrations of low dosage hydrate inhibitors in a THF–NaCl hydrate formation solution
title_sort specific critical concentrations of low dosage hydrate inhibitors in a thf–nacl hydrate formation solution
url http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/37862