Rheology of Tetrahydrofuran Hydrate Slurries

In this work, we study the rheology of hydrate slurries in a mixture of water and THF (tetrahydrofuran, C4H8O). This hydrocarbon is miscible in water, and forms hydrates at ambient pressure and temperatures above 0 °C. Rheological tests, constant shear rate, flow curve, creep, and oscillatory, are carried out for different concentrations. Transient and steady-state results are obtained, suggesting that the rheology is strongly affected by agglomeration and breakage of hydrate crystals that seem to happen simultaneously, when the slurry is sheared during hydrate formation.