The Study on Flow Characteristic of Hydrate Slurry

Hydrate slurry hydrodynamics property at 1.6 MPa and 280.2 K are studied in the flow loop unit for the Diesel oil + CH₄ +C₄H₈O+ H₂O system at different water-oil ratio (volume). In accordance with the non-Newtonian property of hydrate slurries, a hydrodynamic model for hydrate slurry flow is developed by taking hydrate slurry as pseudo-fluid. The apparent viscosity of hydrate slurry is calculated under various conditions. The variation of gas consumption, flow rate, and the apparent viscosity with time at different water-oil ratio are obtained. The experimental results show that the gas consumption value increases with the increasing of water-oil ratio. After about 100 min, no more gas transforms into hydrate. The flow rate decreases rapidly at the initial stage and tends to reach a stable value gradually. Accordingly, the apparent viscosity of hydrate slurries increases at the initial stage and reaches a stable condition. The relative value of the apparent viscosity increases with the increasing of water-oil ratio.