Clathrate hydrates are crystalline inclusion compounds, where water cages trap small hydrocarbon species, typically at high pressure and low temperature. Gas hydrates can occur naturally in marine or arctic sediments from thermogenic or biogenic methane sources, or can form in subsea oil/gas pipelines.  Hydrate-mineral/surface adhesion is a critical property to the successful modeling of both geomechanical strength in natural systems, and hydrate plug formation in conventional energy systems. The present study utilizes a micromechanical force apparatus to directly measure the adhesive force between cyclopentane hydrate and mineral surfaces (quartz and calcite). The results indicate that the hydrate-calcite and hydrate-quartz adhesion forces are respectively 2x and 5x that of the hydrate-stainless steel adhesion force, where the hydrate sintering (growth) rate increased when in contact with raw mineral surfaces. Hydrate-mineral adhesion force was found to depend strongly on wettability, which was measured to be a non-linear function of surface roughness. Hydrate adhesion forces were measured for average mineral surface roughness values of around 1.5 microns.

Direct measurement of hydrate adhesion force to quartz and calcite

245th National Meeting (2013)

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