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International Conference on Gas Hydrates (ICGH) (6th : 2008)

A NOVEL APPROACH TO MEASURING METHANE DIFFUSIVITY THROUGH A HYDRATE FILM USING DIFFERENTIAL SCANNING CALORIMETRY Davies, Simon R.; Lachance, Jason W.; Sloan, E. Dendy; Koh, Carolyn A.

Abstract

The avoidance of hydrate blockages in deepwater subsea tiebacks presents a major technical challenge with severe implications for production, safety and cost. The successful prediction of when and where hydrate plugs form could lead to substantial reductions in the use of chemical inhibitors, and to corresponding savings in operational expenditure. The diffusivity of the gas hydrate former (methane) or the host molecule (water), through a hydrate film is a key property for such predictions of hydrate plug formation. In this paper, a novel application of Differential Scanning Calorimetry is described in which a hydrate film was allowed to grow at a hydrocarbon-water interface for different hold-times. By determining the change in mass of the hydrate film as a function of hold-time, an effective diffusivity could be inferred. The effect of the subcooling, and of the addition of a liquid hydrocarbon layer were also investigated. Finally, the transferability of these results to hydrate growth from water-in-oil emulsions is discussed.

Item Metadata

Title
A NOVEL APPROACH TO MEASURING METHANE DIFFUSIVITY THROUGH A HYDRATE FILM USING DIFFERENTIAL SCANNING CALORIMETRY
Creator
Davies, Simon R.; Lachance, Jason W.; Sloan, E. Dendy; Koh, Carolyn A.
Contributor
University of British Columbia. Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering; International Conference on Gas Hydrates (6th : 2008 : Vancouver, B.C.)
Date Issued
2008-07
Description
The avoidance of hydrate blockages in deepwater subsea tiebacks presents a major technical challenge with severe implications for production, safety and cost. The successful prediction of when and where hydrate plugs form could lead to substantial reductions in the use of chemical inhibitors, and to corresponding savings in operational expenditure. The diffusivity of the gas hydrate former (methane) or the host molecule (water), through a hydrate film is a key property for such predictions of hydrate plug formation. In this paper, a novel application of Differential Scanning Calorimetry is described in which a hydrate film was allowed to grow at a hydrocarbon-water interface for different hold-times. By determining the change in mass of the hydrate film as a function of hold-time, an effective diffusivity could be inferred. The effect of the subcooling, and of the addition of a liquid hydrocarbon layer were also investigated. Finally, the transferability of these results to hydrate growth from water-in-oil emulsions is discussed.
Extent
275819 bytes
Subject
Diffusivity; DSC; Hydrate film growth; Differential Scanning Calorimetry
Genre
Conference Paper
Type
Text
File Format
application/pdf
Language
eng
Date Available
2016-11-21
Provider
Vancouver : University of British Columbia Library
Rights
Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International
DOI
10.14288/1.0041018
URI
http://hdl.handle.net/2429/1126
Affiliation
Non UBC
Citation
Davies, Simon R.; Lachance, Jason W.; Sloan, E. Dendy; Koh, Carolyn A. 2008. A NOVEL APPROACH TO MEASURING METHANE DIFFUSIVITY THROUGH A HYDRATE FILM USING DIFFERENTIAL SCANNING CALORIMETRY. Proceedings of the 6th International Conference on Gas Hydrates (ICGH 2008), Vancouver, British Columbia, CANADA, July 6-10, 2008.
Peer Review Status
Unreviewed
Rights URI
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/
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DSpace

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Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International