Petroleum companies have an invested interest in the prevention of gas hydrate formation within their pipelines, as gas hydrates cause significant problems in the production of natural gas and oil. Thermodynamic inhibitors of gas hydrates behave colligatively and are already used in large quantities, thus requiring the costly recycling of materials. A durable kinetic inhibitor acting non-colligatively and bonded to the surface would be a cost effective means of preventing gas hydrate formation. In nature the mealworm (Tenebrio molitor) produces a protein that is natural kinetic inhibitor of ice formation in order to protect the worm from frost damage. Using mealworm antifreeze protein as a model, we hypothesized that a designed polyol covalently attached to a glass surface could interfere with ice formation under freezing conditions in the same manner as the protein. The synthesis and characterization of the polyols, as well as their attachment to glass surfaces will be presented. A variation in the contact angles provided supporting evidence that the glass surfaces were indeed modified. We will also present our efforts to characterize the antifreeze behavior of the modified surfaces under frosting conditions in a designed experimental apparatus. This is a first step in designing polyol surfaces capable of gas hydrate inhibition in petroleum pipelines.

Synthesis and characterization of potential polyol antifreeze coatings on glass substrates

249th National Meeting (2015)

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