Presently large quantities of production chemicals, primarily methanol and ethylene glycol, are utilized to inhibit the formation of gas hydrates during oil and gas recovery. Gas hydrates are substances resembling snow or ice consisting of water and light hydrocarbons. Under certain conditions they will precipitate in pipes and production gear. This again may lead to production stops implying major economic losses.
A combination of low temperature, high pressure and presence of water is known to provide ideal conditions for hydrate formation. Previous research at CERE has shown that ice-structuring proteins (ISP) found in organisms like bark beetle, meal worm and Arctic fish species can inhibit hydrate formation 100 times more efficiently than methanol and glycol. Further, ISP’s from the Danish bark beetle have been found to be more active in terms of freezing point reduction than other ISP’s.
The present project uses bark beetle ISP produced in comparatively large amounts by fermentation rather than by natural extraction.
Coordinator is Associate Professor Nicolas von Solms, CERE.
The project is planned for 2010-2014. Funding is provided by the Danish Research Council for Technology and Production (FTP).
Head of project: Assoc. Prof. Nicolas von Solms, nvs@kt.dtu.dk
Post Doc: Nagu Daraboina, ndar@kt.dtu.dk