Department of Chemical Engineering, Pohang University of Science & Technology, San 31, Hyoja-Dong, Nam-Gu, Pohang-Si, Gyeongbuk, Korea.
Sci Rep. 2013;3:2428. doi: 10.1038/srep02428.
As the foundation of energy industry moves towards gas, flow assurance technology preventing pipelines from hydrate blockages becomes increasingly significant. However, the principle of hydrate inhibition is still poorly understood. Here, we examined natural hydrophobic amino acids as novel kinetic hydrate inhibitors (KHIs), and investigated hydrate inhibition phenomena by using them as a model system. Amino acids with lower hydrophobicity were found to be better KHIs to delay nucleation and retard growth, working by disrupting the water hydrogen bond network, while those with higher hydrophobicity strengthened the local water structure. It was found that perturbation of the water structure around KHIs plays a critical role in hydrate inhibition. This suggestion of a new class of KHIs will aid development of KHIs with enhanced biodegradability, and the present findings will accelerate the improved control of hydrate formation for natural gas exploitation and the utilization of hydrates as next-generation gas capture media.
随着能源行业基础向天然气转移，防止管道水合物堵塞的流动保障技术变得越来越重要。然而，水合物抑制的原理仍未被充分理解。在这里，我们将天然疏水性氨基酸作为新型动力学水合物抑制剂（KHIs）进行了研究，并以此模型系统研究了水合物抑制现象。结果发现，疏水性较低的氨基酸作为 KHIs 具有更好的延迟成核和减缓生长的效果，其作用机制是破坏水的氢键网络，而疏水性较高的氨基酸则增强了局部水结构。研究发现，KHIs 周围水结构的扰动在水合物抑制中起着关键作用。这一关于新型 KHIs 的建议将有助于开发具有增强生物降解性的 KHIs，并且本研究结果将加速对天然气开采中水合物形成的更好控制以及将水合物作为下一代气体捕获介质的利用。
