Paper Number
SC10 

Session
Suspensions and Colloids

Title
Rheology in hydrate formation at atmospheric pressure

Presentation Date and Time
October 12, 2015 (Monday) 3:10

Track / Room
Track 1 / Constellation C

Authors (Click on name to view author profile)

1. de Lima Silva, Paulo H. (Pontificia Universidade Católica do Rio de Janeiro, Mechanical Engineering)
2. Stender, Alberto S. (Pontificia Universidade Católica do Rio de Janeiro, Mechanical Engineering)
3. Barçante, Mauricio (Pontificia Universidade Católica do Rio de Janeiro, Mechanical Engineering)
4. Naccache, Monica F. (Pontificia Universidade Católica do Rio de Janeiro, Mechanical Engineering)
5. de Souza Mendes, Paulo R. (Pontifícia Universidade Católica-RJ, Mechanical Engineering)
6. Gramatges, Aurora P. (Pontificia Universidade Católica do Rio de Janeiro, Chemistry Department)

Author and Affiliation Lines (in printed abstract book)
Paulo H. de Lima Silva¹, Alberto S. Stender¹, Mauricio Barçante¹, Monica F. Naccache¹, Paulo R. de Souza Mendes¹, and Aurora P. Gramatges^2
1Mechanical Engineering, Pontificia Universidade Católica do Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, RJ 22453900, Brazil; ²Chemistry Department, Pontificia Universidade Católica do Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, RJ 22453900, Brazil

Speaker / Presenter 
Naccache, Monica F.

Text of Abstract
The appearance of hydrates of natural gas is a major concern for the Oil & Gas Industry. Hydrates of natural gas are crystalline solids, formed when a water molecule entraps the gas molecule under appropriate conditions of pressure and temperature. Depending on the amount of hydrates formed, the resulting structure can be a slurry or a plug that resembles ice, with high bulk viscosity and shear modulus. The severe changes in fluid properties might cause flow assurance issues, so it is extremely important to evaluate the potential risk of blockage formation, and to seek solutions that would potentially delay hydrate nucleation or guarantee hydrate transportability. Typically, once hydrates are formed, the viscosity and the shear modulus increase very fast. Therefore, the understanding of the fluid rheology during this process can be a useful tool to better analyze this phenomenon. In this work, we obtain the rheology characterization of two different model systems, both hydrate formers at atmospheric pressure: the first system is a mixture of water and tetrahydrofuran (THF), and the other one is a water–in-oil emulsion with cyclopentane. The study shows results of each system, addressing the effects of the cooling rate, and water/hydrate former concentration on the fluid rheology during the hydrate formation process.