Gas hydrate and corrosion inhibitors are widely used
to ensure
a successful and economic hydrocarbon stream flow inside oil and gas
pipelines. However, compatibility problems are observed during their
co-injection into the flowlines as they have different molecular chemistry.
Using anti-agglomerant hydrate inhibitors is an effective method to
control the gas hydrate plugging risk in deep-water hydrocarbon flow
lines or throughout drilling operations. Here, oleic acid was used
to develop the first class of biosurfactants as anti-agglomerant and
corrosion inhibitors using click chemistry for flow assurance applications.
The results of high-pressure autoclave showed that both bio-based
anti-agglomerants (BAAs) significantly inhibited gas hydrate agglomeration,
and the value of torque remained constant during the hydrate formation
process. The hydrate particles were effectively dispersed in liquid
paraffin in the presence of 1 wt % of BAA1 or BAA2. In addition, molecular
dynamic simulation revealed that the headgroup of BAA1 was adsorbed
on the hydrate surface, and its alkyl chain dispersed the hydrate
formed in the hydrocarbon phase as a slurry. According to electrochemical
measurements, both BAAs were highly efficient inhibitors for the prevention
of mild steel corrosion in saturated H2S and CO2-simulated oilfield water. BAA1 and BAA2 completely protected the
steel in the corrosive medium by 99 and 98.8%, respectively, at 0.1
wt %. Moreover, the adsorption of BAA1 molecules on the steel surface
was both physically and chemically in a direction that was almost
parallel to the surface. Such adsorption provides the maximum surface
coverage against corrosion. These findings suggest that oleic acid
can be used as a potential starting material to develop eco-friendly
inhibitors for flow assurance in oil and gas pipelines.
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