Experiment for effect of water-soluble ions on formation of methane hydrate in oil-water emulsion

Abstract

In the process of deep-sea oil and gas production, the low-temperature high-pressure condition in the pipeline is naturally helpful for formation of hydrates, which may result in the blockage of pipelines, bringing a major safety hazard to the pipeline transportation of oil and gas. Thus, a kinetic experiment on hydrate formation was conducted in the multiphase flow environment formed by the main components in seawater during oil and gas production, and the variation of the individual or combined effect of different components on the gas pressure parameters and gas storage during the hydration reaction was observed during the experiment. In the experiment, stable white oil emulsion was prepared with Span80 and SDS as the dispersing agents, the emulsion at different mass fraction was mixed with the artificial seawater crystals separately, and the effect of hydrolytic ions on the hydrate formed in the emulsion system was analyzed. The results show that the artificial seawater crystal can promote the heat and mass transfer between the molecules of the emulsion system, shorten the induction time of hydrate formation, accelerate the hydration reaction rate, and significantly increase the hydrate formation. The research provides a reference for prevention and control of hydrate blockage in pipelines during oil and gas production.

Keywords

• methane hydrate
• emulsion
• crystal
• kinetics
• surfactant