Dynamics of hydrate formation and deposition under pseudo multiphase flow

Gas hydrate formation is considered one of the major challenges in the flow assurance of deepwater oil and gas pipelines, as their blockage by hydrate can lead to significant production/economic loss and safety risk. Understanding the hydrate formation and deposition processes can improve the management methods in field development and production. This study used a high-pressure rocking cell to simulate multiphase flow conditions to visually investigate the hydrate formation and deposition from an oil-gas-water system. The changing hydrate morphologies, flow pattern and particle distribution during hydrate formation were studied and a conceptual model was proposed. The relative motion of hydrates to the cell wall and the final morphology of the hydrate chunks are found to be two critical parameters for evaluating hydrate deposition characteristics in the flow system. Five types of hydrate deposition morphologies are observed and these are correlated to the hydrate porosity. © 2017 American Institute of Chemical Engineers AIChE J, 63: 4136–4146, 2017