Surfactants as hydrate promoters?

Natural gas hydrates from different types and concentrations of surfactant solutions were produced in a high-pressure cell. An anionic, a cationic, an d a nonionic surfactant were used to prepare different concentration of sur factant solutions from deionized water. Although the thermodynamics of hydr ate formation from a gas mixture is not affected with the existence of surf actants in the environment, there is an appreciable effect of type and conc entration of surfactant on hydrate formation rate. The hydrate formation ra te is increased with the use of anionic surfactant for all concentrations t ested. Hydrate formation rate is also increased at low concentrations of ca tionic surfactant. The effect of nonionic surfactant is less pronounced com pared to anionic and cationic ones.