Differential scanning calorimetry measurements and modeling of methane + THF hydrate growth kinetics based on non-equilibrium thermodynamics

In the present work, the feasibility of using DSC to measure the kinetics of hydrate formation was investigated. Therefore, there is an attempt to model methane hydrate formation believing the heat transfer plays the dominant role in hydrate formation. The model relies on irreversible and non-equilibrium thermodynamics and introduces the affinity as the driving force of hydrate formation process. The results showed that the velocity of the process is related to the affinity by an order of −6.8 or the rate of created uncompensated heat is proportional to the (−5.8)-th power of the driving force. Moreover, the kinetic parameter of model was affected by different operational conditions. It increased as much as about 10-100 times as the pressure of system increased. Also, it was observed that THF solution can increase the parameter >2-3 orders of magnitude. It can be a suitable criterion to study different experimental conditions which affect the kinetics of hydrate formation.