Determining gas hydrate kinetic inhibitor effectiveness using emulsions

In this study we measure the effect of hydrate kinetic inhibition in emulsions. Because hydrate nucleation is stochastic, many experiments normally are needed to obtain accurate analysis of the effectiveness of kinetic inhibitors. Using differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), we show how emulsions can reduce the number of kinetic samples needed to obtain a statistical analysis of the effectiveness of polyvinylcaprolactam, PVCap, a common kinetic inhibitor. PVCap is shown to delay the average hydrate nucleation time and also causes hydrate nucleation to become more stochastic. This novel method uses less material and experimental time compared to traditional methods used to test kinetic inhibitors.