Nucleation rates of methane hydrate from water in oil emulsions

Nucleation of methane hydrate from water emulsions in five different kinds of crude oil and in decane have been studied with the use of isothermal methods. The experiments were conducted at a temperature of -5 degrees C and pressure of 12 MPa. It is shown that the nucleation rates tend to decrease with the increase in the density of the organic liquid used to make the emulsion. It is most likely that the observed regularities are related to the rate of methane diffusion to water surface.