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PROPANE GAS HYDRATE NUCLEATION KINETICS: EXPERIMENTAL INVESTIGATION AND CORRELATION

University of British Columbia. Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering; International Conference on Gas Hydrates (6th : 2008 : Vancouver, B.C.)

In this work the nucleation kinetics of propane gas hydrate has been investigated experimentally using a stirred batch reactor. The experiments have been performed isothermally recording the pressure as a function of time. Experiments were conducted at different stirring rates, but in the same supersaturation region. The experiments showed that the gas dissolution rate rather than the induction time of propane hydrate is influenced by a change in the stirring rate. This was especially valid at high stirring rates when the water surface was severely disturbed. Addition of polyvinylpyrrolidone to the aqueous phase was found to reduce the gas dissolution rate slightly, however the induction times were prolonged quite substantially. The induction time data were correlated using a newly developed induction time model based on crystallization theory also capable of taking into account the presence of additives. In most cases reasonable agreement between the data and the model could be obtained. The results revealed that especially the effective surface energy between propane hydrate and water is likely to change when the stirring rate varies from very high to low. The prolongation of induction times according to the model is likely to be due to a change in the nuclei-substrate contact angle.

Gas hydrates; Interfacial energy; Kinetic inhibitors; Nucleation

Text

eng

Vancouver : University of British Columbia Library

10.14288/1.0040956

Non UBC

Unreviewed

http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/