Experimental study on hydrate anti-agglomeration in the presence of rhamnolipid

Gas hydrates might cause a potential safety hazard in subsea flow assurance. Anti-agglomeration is a promising approach to keep subsea oil and gas pipelines free from hydrate risks. Effective anti-agglomerants could prevent hydrate agglomeration of small crystallites by lowering the capillary force between hydrate particles. Biosurfactants are widely known for their eco-friendly nature. In this work, n-octane, water and methane were used as hydrate-forming ingredients to examine the effectiveness of rhamnolipid. Our investigation was carried out at constant high pressure (10 MPa) with different water cuts, subcooling degrees and rhamnolipid mass fractions. Three agglomeration states of hydrate were observed in a high-pressure visual autoclave apparatus. Torque measurements showed that rhamnolipid could effectively prevent hydrate agglomeration with a concentration of 0.5 wt%. In addition, the structural characteristics and morphology of hydrate were observed by use of powder X-ray diffraction, Raman spectroscopy and cryo-scanning electron microscopy. We noticed that the introduction of rhamnolipid had no effect on hydrate structure, but it could increase the large and small cavity ratio value and hydration number. Through the microscopic images, we inferred that rhamnolipid could make the surface of hydrate smooth, which resulted in a more ordered surface.