InterPore2024

Anti-hydrate Surface Design for Utilization in CO2 Sequestration Processes

13 May 2024, 14:55

1h 30m

Poster Presentation (MS06-B) Interfacial phenomena across scales Poster

Speaker

Rui Ma (University of Regina)

Description

The undesired CO2 hydrates formation in wellbores or pipelines often poses a significant risk to production safety. CO2 hydrates can develop during numerous processes, such as CO2 injection for geological or saltwater storage, production wells in CO2 flooding for enhanced oil recovery, and CO2 pipeline transportation. These hydrates form when gas-water two-phase conditions are met within the hydrate stability zone. Particularly during the transition of supercritical CO2 into the gas phase, the decrease in temperature promotes the hydrate formation. Once these hydrates accumulate on a large scale and form blockages, the bulk hydrates significantly compromise the safety and efficacy of CO2 storage or hydrocarbon production. To address the challenges posed by hydrates, an effective alternative solution is to develop a new generation of passive anti-hydrate surfaces that can prevent hydrates from accumulating over time. These new surfaces can incorporate smart properties such as anti-hydrate nucleation on the surface initially and possess low hydrate adhesion strength if hydrate deposition inevitably occurs. Therefore, it is necessary to understand the fundamental interactions between CO2 hydrates and solid surfaces. To achieve this, the current study employs systematic atomistic modeling and large-scale molecular dynamics (MD) simulations to explore the underlying mechanisms and key factors influencing hydrate adhesion. The results indicate that the gas concentration in the vicinity of solid surfaces plays a crucial role in determining the structures of the hydrates intermediate layer formed on those surfaces. By increasing the gas content near solid surfaces, it becomes possible to weaken CO2 hydrate adhesion, enabling the automatic detachment of hydrates under the influence of shear flow. With a better understanding of these mechanisms, it is conceivable to develop more effective anti-hydrate strategies and enhance the safety and efficiency of CO2 utilization process.