Potato starch as methane hydrate promoter

In this study the effects of water-soluble biological starch from potatoes on methane hydrate formation rate, stability and storage capacity have been investigated and compared with the hydrate formed in pure water and aqueous sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) solution. Methane hydrate was formed in 100, 200, 300 and 500 ppm starch and 500 ppm SDS aqueous solutions. Hydrate stability tests were performed at two temperatures of 263.2 and 268.2 K with and without additives at two pressures of 1 and 10 bar. It has been found that potato starch in all tested concentrations increases the hydrate formation rate and at 500 ppm it has maximum acceleration effect comparable to SDS at similar concentration. Maximum hydrate storage capacity of 163 was achieved at 300 ppm starch solution and the best operating condition for storage was the pressure of 10 bar and temperature of 268.2 K. (C) 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.