Designing Ultra-Low Hydrate Adhesion Surfaces by Interfacial Spreading of Water-Immiscible Barrier Films

Clathrate hydrates are icelike solid substances that can form inside oil and gas pipelines and are responsible for flow blockages, sometimes leading to catastrophic failures. Minimizing hydrate formation and adhesion on pipeline surfaces can effectively address this problem. In this paper, we achieve the lowering of the adhesion of cyclopentane hydrates by promoting a cyclopentane barrier film between the hydrate and solid surface. The presence of this interfacial liquid film depends on the relative spreading of cyclopentane on the solid surface in the presence of water. We study the role of surface chemistry and surface texture on the spreading characteristics of such interfacial films and their impact on hydrate adhesion. The use of the spreading coefficients as design parameters could take us a step closer to the development of effective passive antihydrate surfaces.