Thermal insulation for hydrate prevention in pipeline design

Abstract

THE PETROLEUM industry spends millions of dollars every year to combat the formation of gas hydrates. Produced natural gas stream from the reservoir always saturates with water and one of the problems associated with its transmission pipeline is the formation of hydrates. Gas hydrates cause problems by plugging transmission lines and damaging equipment. Hydrate formation in pipeline arises due to temperature drop and other thermodynamic changes during production. To prevent hydrate formation, it is important to make accurate prediction of temperature and pressure under which gas hydrate will form. Formation of gas hydrate can be eliminated or decreased by several methods, thermal insulation, heating or chemical injection. The present study focused on hydrate prevention using thermal insulation technique done by HYSYS simulation software. Experimental work was carried out using PVT cell (mercury free system) to detect the hydrate formation temperature.