Nucleation of Methane Hydrate in the Presence of Nanofibrillar Cellulose

The possibility of slowing down gas hydrate nucleation by introducing additional surfaces into the system has been investigated. The process usually takes place at phase boundaries, i.e., the appearance of new surfaces (solid particles) in the system should increase the probability of hydrate formation. The effect of carboxylated cellulose nanofibrils (CNF) dispersed in water on methane hydrate formation under vigorous stirring was studied. It was found, that under identical conditions, allows“”introducing 0.5 wt.% of CNF allows, first, to reduce the hydrate nucleation rate and, second, to suppress the “memory” effect characteristic of hydrate formation from distilled water (DW). The analysis of the “survival” functions made it possible to establish that the mechanism of the inhibiting action of CNF involves the reducing the number of hydrate nucleation sites. This can be explained by the involvement of the CNF in the disrupting the hydrogen bonds network: for example, mechanical destruction of subcritical nuclei by inhibitor particles with intense agitation. The obtained data indicate the possibility of developing a new class of kinetic hydrate inhibitors based on dispersions.