Sunflower oil, which is found in almost every home, can be used not only in cooking, everyday life and cosmetology - it will help avoid complications (gas hydrates and corrosion) during oil and gas production.
Sunflower oil, which is found in almost every home, can be used not only in cooking, everyday life and cosmetology - it will help avoid complications (gas hydrates and corrosion) during oil and gas production. Scientists of the priority area of Kazan University intend to apply inhibitors developed on its basis in harsh Arctic conditions. Unique reagents have shown high efficiency during laboratory tests. They can prevent freezing in wells when producing hydrocarbon resources in the Arctic. Our employees partnered up with colleagues from Russian Oil and Gas University, Shahid Beheshti University (Iran) and University of Isfahan (Iran).
Today the world knows several ways of dealing with "gas hydrate plugs." The most common and simplest one is to cut them out. But this method has many drawbacks, is extremely ineffective, unsafe and, moreover, has long been outdated. This technology has been replaced by inhibitors. However, all of the currently existing inhibitors have different side effects: some are environmentally unsafe, others are too expensive. Therefore, the researchers opted for a budget-friendly, affordable and biodegradable product, adding it to the “recipe” for creating an inhibitor that is truly unique in its properties.
“We found that sunflower oil can be modified in several ways, and many molecules can be synthesized from it. The presence of alkyl chains in its structure can improve hydrate inhibition. Sunflower oil-based molecules can easily degrade due to the presence of ester groups in their structure,” explains Research Associate Abdolreza Farhadian.
Read more at Kazan Federal University
Figure: Synthesis of epoxidized sunflower oil (ESFO) and phosphorylated polyol (Phospol). CREDIT: Kazan Federal University
