Development and Implementation of Green Inhibitors of Gas Hydrate Formation in the Fields of Western Siberia

Abstract The effect of biodegradable polysaccharides – sodium (NaCMC) and ethanolammonium salts of carboxymethylcellulose, dextran and arabinogalactan on the process of gas hydrate formation was studied in order to search for new "green" inhibitors of low-concentration gas hydrate formation. The ability of polysaccharides to inhibit gas hydrate formation was studied in a quasi-equilibrium thermodynamic experiment. A mixture of hydrocarbon gases with a composition typical of the composition of petroleum gas and containing 78% methane was used as a gas-hydrate-forming model medium. It was found that in concentrations of 0.005, 0.0065 and 0.008%, dextran, NaCMC and arabinogalactan as thermodynamic inhibitors exceed methanol by 170-270 times in inhibitory properties. Dextran is superior to NaCMC and arabinogalactan in terms of inhibition efficiency, reduction of gas hydrate formation rate and induction time. Since with an increase in the concentration of polysaccharides, the pressure drop of gas hydrate formation increases and the rate of formation of gas hydrates decreases according to the mechanism of action, the studied polysaccharides can be attributed to both thermodynamic and kinetic inhibitors. It is established that the molecular weight of water-soluble polysaccharides has a significant effect on their inhibitory properties. A polysaccharide with a molecular weight of 250,000 demonstrated the highest inhibitory activity among the studied samples of NaCMC, which is 400 times more effective than methanol. NaCMC with a mass of 700 thousand did not have any effect on the formation of hydrates. Among the ethanolammonium salts, the monoethanolammonium salt CMC showed the greatest effectiveness in inhibiting the formation of tetrahydrofuran hydrates. An increase in its concentration from 0.02 to 0.1% leads to an increase in the induction time required for the nucleation and subsequent growth of crystals by 10 times. When switching from mono - to di - and triethanolammonium salts of carboxymethylcellulose, the inhibition efficiency decreases. It is shown that sodium and ethanolammonium salts of carboxymethylcellulose, arabinogalactan and dextran are promising for creating new "green" highly effective inhibitors of gas hydrate formation on their basis. The results of laboratory and field tests of the preparative form of the "green" gas hydrate formation inhibitor at the fields of Western Siberia are presented. It was found that at dosages of 500 g/m3 or less, there is no formation of hydrate plugs in the annulus of wells.