Surfactants as Hydrate Promoters?

Natural gas hydrates from different types and concentrations of surfactant solutions were produced in a high-pressure cell. An anionic, a cationic, and a nonionic surfactant were used to prepare different concentration of surfactant solutions from deionized water. Although the thermodynamics of hydrate formation from a gas mixture is not affected with the existence of surfactants in the environment, there is an appreciable effect of type and concentration of surfactant on hydrate formation rate. The hydrate formation rate is increased with the use of anionic surfactant for all concentrations tested. Hydrate formation rate is also increased at low concentrations of cationic surfactant. The effect of nonionic surfactant is less pronounced compared to anionic and cationic ones.