Research stay at IITRI, Houston: Laser light scattering studies of the gas hydrate nucleation process

摘要

This report describes investigation of hydrate nucleation kinetics by means of photon correlation spectroscopy and an attempt to reproduce the nuclei size measurements previously performed by the author. The laser used in the present experiment was much higher powered than the one used in the previous work, and more and better quality data on the nuclei sizes was expected. It turned out, however, that the design of the hardware of the experimental set-up had several disadvantages when applied to hydrate nucleation studies. The data obtained on nuclei sizes were of too low quality to allow any conclusions about the hydrate nucleation process. During the study, some knowledge was gained of the criteria needed to study hydrate nucleation by laser light scattering. It was found that, in addition to a high-powered laser, other important details of the set-up are: a sample cell that can be adjusted vertically, full view of the cell interior during the experiment, slow stirring of the liquid phase, and as low driving force of the hydrate formation process as possible. Ultimately, the nuclei data will be used to gain a better understanding of the kinetics of the hydrate formation process. The design of new kinetic inhibitors for the oil and gas industries can then be based on improved knowledge of this process. 13 refs., 5 figs., 4 tabs.