Bio-inspired Superhydrophobic Coating with Low Hydrate Adhesion for Hydrate Mitigation
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Journal of Bionic Engineering http://www.springer.com/journal/42235
Bio-inspired Superhydrophobic Coating with Low Hydrate Adhesion for Hydrate Mitigation Sanbao Dong1*, Mingzhong Li2, Chenwei Liu2, Jie Zhang1, Gang Chen1 1. College of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Xi’an Shiyou University, Xi’an 710065, China 2. College of Petroleum Engineering, China University of Petroleum, Qingdao 266580, China
Abstract In this paper, we fabricate a biomimetic superhydrophobic coating on an X90 pipeline steel substrate by electrodeposition of copper, hydrothermal treatment to form a copper oxide layer, and subsequent surface modification with Stearic Acid (SA). The coating exhibits static contact angles of water of 160˚ ± 3.1˚ in the air and 170.7˚ ± 2.5˚ in cyclopentane, indicating the strongly water-repelling nature of the coating. The morphologies of the cyclopentane hydrate formed on steel substrates with and without the superhydrophobic coating are investigated. The results show that the hydrate particle on the coating exhibits spherical morphology and herein the interfacial contact area and adhesion force to the solid surface can be essentially reduced. The adhesion force reduction may be resulted by the decrease in the contact area between the hydrate and the solid surface. Keywords: gas hydrate, cyclopentane, contact angle, bio-inspired coating, superhydrophobic, adhesion Copyright © Jilin University 2020.
1 Introduction Clathrate hydrates are ice-like crystalline inclusion compounds that consist of water cages entrapping small-sized hydrocarbon molecules (e.g., methane, ethane, carbon dioxide and cyclopentane)[1]. Hydrates usually form at certain high pressure and low temperature conditions where water and light hydrocarbon molecules exist in sufficient conditions[2,3]. Hydrate blockage caused by hydrate formation and deposition poses a major risk to pipeline flow in deep-sea oil and gas productions where the thermodynamic conditions are favorable for hydrate formation[3]. Flow blockages can restrict flow and lead to production loss, environmental consequences and safety hazards to operators[1,5,6]. Traditional methods to mitigate hydrate risk include insulating the pipelines[7], injections of thermodynamic inhibitors (THIs)[8] and Low-Dosage Hydrate Inhibitors (LDHIs)[9–11]. However, most of these methods are subjected to certain limitations, such as high treatment costs and environmental concerns[1]. Recently, one option for hydrate mitigation by preventing the deposition of hydrates on the inner pipeline wall has *Corresponding author: Sanbao Dong E-mail: [email protected]
attracted the attention of researchers. This method allows hydrates to form but prevents their deposition on the pipeline wall by using a low adhesion, protective surface coatings on the inner surface of the pipeline. It has been shown that surface chemistry of the inner surface of the pipe plays a crucial role in determining the adhesion force between hydrate and the pipe surface[12–17]. Aman et al.[12] used a micromechanical force (M
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