The gas-adsorption mechanism of kinetic hydrate inhibitors

Molecular dynamics was employed to study the inhibition mechanism of vinyl lactam-based kinetic hydrate inhibitors (KHIs). By comparing the inhibition functions of the same KHIs at different initial locations, we found that the KHI molecules on the surface of hydrate nuclei could obviously prolong the hydrate induction time and exhibited the best inhibition effect. The impacts of KHIs on the methane migration and the arrangement of H2O molecules were analyzed at the molecular level. A gas-adsorbing mechanism for KHIs (i.e., the KHIs with an excellent gas adsorption ability could reduce the supersaturation of methane in the aqueous solution, reinforce the migration resistance of methane to the nucleus, and further inhibit the hydrate growth) was proposed. In addition, the conformations of KHI polymer molecules in the aqueous solution are closely related to their inhibitory effect, that is, stretched skeletons and well-organized structures would maximize their inhibitory effect.