Influence of magnetic field exposure on methane hydrate

Gas hydrate mitigation is considered a painstaking process in the oil and gas industry. Chemically, mono ethylene glycol (MEG) is used to control the gas hydrate formation. However, gas hydrate formation can also be affected by an external magnetic field under certain conditions such as subsea production equipment that can generate a magnetic field. This magnetic field could influence the physical behaviour of the gas hydrate conditions of the transported fluid within the subsea production pipelines. The objectives of this research were to assess the effects of exposing water and 20 wt % MEG solution to the magnetic field of 13,499 Gauss, neodymium magnet, on methane hydrate formation in correlation with field exposure time and memory effects. This study determined that, for the water solution, there was a proportional, incremental trend between the magnetic field exposure time and its memory effect for exposures of 172, 258 and 387 h. The dissociation temperatures of the magnetized solutions were raised and had different hydrate developments. However, no effects were found on the 20 wt % MEG solution. It has been inferred from this outcome that the addition of MEG impacted on the water molecules numbers within the hydration shell. The application of the potential magnetic effect as a control method can provide in-depth and better understanding of the hydrate behaviour and mechanism at subsea conditions.