Advances in green hydrate inhibitors

Gas hydrate blockage is a major issue that the production and transportation processes in the oil/gas industry faces. The formation of gas hydrates in pipelines results in significant financial losses and serious safety risks. To tackle the flow assurance issues caused by gas hydrate formation in the pipelines, some physical methods and chemical inhibitors are applied by the oil/gas industry. The physical techniques involve subjecting the gas hydrates to thermal heating and depressurization. The alternative method, on the other hand, relies on injecting chemical inhibitors into the pipelines, which affects gas hydrate formation. Chemical inhibitors are classified into high dosage hydrate inhibitors (thermodynamic hydrate inhibitors (THI)) and low dosage hydrate inhibitors (kinetic hydrate inhibitors (KHI) and anti-agglomerates (AAs)). Each chemical inhibitor affects the gas hydrate from a different perspective. The modern-day inhibitors are majorly synthetic, expensive and lead to environmental pollution, therefore, there is need for less expensive and environmentally friendly inhibitors. This article reviews recent advances in the use of locally sourced bio-degradable materials to effectively inhibit gas hydrate formation. The inhibition efficiency of plant materials will be validated side by side with synthetic hydrate inhibitors. The performance of these green inhibitors will provide effective techniques for gas hydrate management.