PREDICTION OF CARBON-DIOXIDE GAS HYDRATE FORMATION CONDITIONS IN AQUEOUS-ELECTROLYTE SOLUTIONS

A methodology for predicting the incipient equilibrium conditions for carbon dioxide gas hydrates in the presence of electrolytes such as NaCl, KCl and CaCl2 is presented. The method utilizes the statistical thermodynamics model of van der Waals and Platteeuw (1959) to describe the solid hydrate phase. Three different models were examined for the representation of the liquid phase: Chen and Evans (1986), Zuo and Guo (1991), and Aasberg-Petersen et al. (1991). It was found that the model of Zuo and Guo (1991) gave the best results for predicting incipient CO2 gas hydrate conditions in aqueous single salt solutions. The model was then extended for prediction of CO2 gas hydrates in mixed salts solutions. The predictions agree very well with experimental data.