Chitosan as green kinetic inhibitors for gas hydrate formation

The kinetic inhibiting effect of a number of chitosans on hydrate formation was investigated using methane and methane/ethane gas mixtures. The results indicated that chitosan was a good kinetic inhibitor. The induction time of gas hydrate formation evidently increased with the degree of deacetylation (DD), however, when DD was higher than 80%, the effect of DD on the induction time was negligible. Moreover, it was found that the molecular weight (MW) of chitosan and the addition of polyethylene oxide (PEO) had little effect on the induction time. The optimal concentration of chitosan was found to be 0.6 wt%. Finally, the mechanisms of the kinetic inhibitor on the hydrate formation were discussed.