Performance of hydrate inhibitors in tetrahydrofuran hydrate formation by using measurement of electrical conductivity

This study tries to investigate the kinetic behavior of THF hydrate formation in the presence of electrolytic inhibitors containing, LiCl, NaCl, KCl, CsCl, MgCl2, CaCl2, and BaCl2·2H2O salts. The experiments were conducted with the initial temperature of 2.3 °C, and the concentration ranging 1–2% weight of salts. Measurement of electrical conductivity during process was used to study the THF hydrate formation and analyze the inhibition strength of mentioned salts. The results, based on a novel technique, indicate that the inhibition strength depends on the ionic size and electrical charge. The best performance for hydrate inhibition is in the following order: Mg2+ > Li1+ > Ca2+ > Ba2+ > Na1+ > K1+ > Cs1+.