crystalline substances formed by associated molecules of hydrogen and water and having a crystalline structure. Natural gas hydrates look like wet pressed snow turning into ice. Having accumulated in the gas pipeline, they can choke or completely block the pipe and cause damage to the system’s operating conditions.
When large gas volumes are transported, dehydration is the most efficient and economical means of preventing the hydrate formation in the trunk pipeline. The existing methods for gas dehydration in the field fall into two main groups: absorption (dehydration by liquid media) and adsorption (dehydration by solid media). The dehydration is aimed at the depression of the water dew point below the minimal temperature that can be expected in the gas pipeline.
Gas dehydration by liquid media is most widely used in the gas industry.
The liquid sorbents used for the dehydration of natural and petroleum gases should have high solubility in water, be low cost, and should show high corrosion resistance. They must also be chemically neutral towards the gas components and, if regeneration is used, they should be easily regenerated, be of low viscosity, and so on.