Research progress on the effect of heavy crude oil components on hydrate formation

The formation of hydrate will bring about a great challenge to the safe operation of submarine multiphase transportation pipelines, while the components of heavy crude oil, such as wax and asphaltene, will greatly affect the formation process of hydrate, which will further increase the complexity of fluid flow in pipelines. So, the kinetic model of hydrate formation in the oil-water system was analyzed, the study results on the effect of wax on hydrate nucleation and growth in waxy oil-water systems were reviewed, and the research progress on the influence law of asphaltene on hydrate formation was summarized. Through analysis, it is found that the composition of oil products is not considered in the kinetic model of hydrate formation in the existing oil-water system, and no consensus is formed for the influence of wax and asphaltene on hydrate formation. Finally, it is suggested to analyze the hydrate formation results in combination with the distribution of carbon number of waxes, the asphaltene composition and the functional groups, and to study the influence of crude oil components on hydrate formation by molecular-micro-macro multi-scale method.