An Experimental Study on the Kinetics of Natural Gas Hydrate Formation in Pure Water Using NF Unit Gas at Bandar Imam Petrochemical Plant

Amini, Mohammad Reza; Borsalani, Ali; Azimi, Alireza; Narimani, Mustafa; Mirzaei, Masoumeh

doi:10.22050/ijogst.2025.523830.1741

An Experimental Study on the Kinetics of Natural Gas Hydrate Formation in Pure Water Using NF Unit Gas at Bandar Imam Petrochemical Plant

Document Type : Research Paper

Authors

Mohammad Reza Amini ¹

Ali Borsalani ²

Alireza Azimi ³

Mustafa Narimani ²

Masoumeh Mirzaei ³

¹ PhD Candidate, Department of Chemical Engineering, Islamic Azad University, Omidiyeh Branch, Omidiyeh, Iran

² Assistant Professor, Department of Chemical Engineering, Islamic Azad University, Omidiyeh Branch, Omidiyeh, Iran

³ Associate Professor, Department of Chemical Engineering, Islamic Azad University, Mahshahr Branch, Mahshahr, Iran

https://doi.org/10.22050/ijogst.2025.523830.1741

Abstract

Understanding gas hydrate formation conditions is crucial for designing natural gas transmission pipelines. These compounds are studied from both thermodynamic and kinetic perspectives. Despite significant advances in the thermodynamic aspect of hydrates, kinetic investigations still demand further research. Accordingly, in order to determine the equilibrium conditions of natural gas hydrate formation, six independent experiments were conducted using natural gas samples from the NF unit of the Bandar Imam Petrochemical Complex. The tests were carried out in a fixed-volume reactor at temperatures of 278.3, 278.6, 284.8, 290.3, 279.3, and 280.6 K, and pressures of 37.8, 19.3, 28.4, 52.2, 32.7, and 16.2 bar, respectively. The experimental results showed that the mass transfer coefficients were 0.343, 0.236, 0.200, 0.314, 0.297, and 0.166 m/s, while the molecular diffusion coefficients were 2.5968 ×10^(-9), 6.2866×10^(-9), 3.3931×10^(-9), 1.49×10^(-9), 4.28×10^(-9), and 7.42×10^(-9) m²/s, respectively. These findings indicate that an increase in reactor temperature leads to a decrease in mass transfer coefficient and an increase in molecular diffusion coefficient, whereas an increase in pressure results in a rise in mass transfer coefficient and a decrease in molecular diffusion coefficient. These trends are consistent with established empirical correlations

Highlights

Experimental kinetics of natural gas hydrate formation using real NF gas
Hydrate formation in pure water under controlled conditions
Effects of temperature and pressure on hydrate formation kinetics
Experimental determination of mass transfer and diffusion coefficients
Results useful for hydrate prediction in gas processing systems

Keywords

Hydrate Formation Rate

Natural Gas

Kinetics

Molecular Diffusion Coefficient

Mass Transfer Coefficient

Subjects

Chemical Engineering

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