Skip to main content
U.S. Department of Energy
Office of Scientific and Technical Information

Solid deposition in hydrocarbon systems: Hydrates of natural gases, annual report, April 1, 1991-December 31, 1991

Technical Report ·
OSTI ID:6421829
The project addresses the deposition of hydrates in hydrocarbon systems. Its specific focus is on metastability, nucleation, and kinetics of hydrate formation. The research should provide basic data and knowledge necessary to support the gas industry goals for reliable operation of marine pipelines and the development of inhibitors. The main research objective of the contract is to establish a basis for better understanding of the hydrate formation and decomposition processes. In particular, studies of phase transitions carried out at the laboratory have identified two interesting domains in the hydrate formation/decomposition process: (1) the cool-down region prior to the massive, spontaneous hydrate formation; and (2) the final decomposition region. Both regions exhibit metastable equilibrium which is possibly due to transient sub-units of the hydrate crystal lattice. Evidence of these transient structures using the two phase transition apparatuses and our differential heat flux calorimeter will be studied.
Research Organization:
Rice Univ., Houston, TX (United States). Dept. of Chemical Engineering
OSTI ID:
6421829
Report Number(s):
PB-93-189314/XAB; CNN: GRI-5091-260-2123
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English