he conceptually simplest environmental inhibition method is to dry the gas before

it is cooled remove the water and hydrates so they cannot form. This involves adso
rption onto, for example, silica gel, or cooling and condensation, absorption of
water into alcohols, or adsorption onto hydroscopic salts.
Thermodynamic inhibition has been the most common method for controlling gas hydra
tes. There are a number of alternatives:
Heating the gas
Decreasing pressure in the system
Injecting salt solutions
Injecting alcohol or glycol
One method of providing heat to the hydrate-formation zone is the use of electri
cal-resistance heating via cables connected to a transformer.[2] Another is plac
ing the choke in a sufficiently hot zone of the production system. The injection
of salts (primarily CaCl2) reduces hydrate formation by lowering the chemical a
ctivity of water, and by lowering the solubility of gas in water.
The last alternative is used more frequently now with a transition from methanol
to ethylene glycols for health, safety, and environment (HSE) reasons. The gene
ral effect of such inhibitors is shown in Fig. 2 (not a total removal of the pro
blem but a shift of the hydrate-formation curve to lower temperatures, ostensibl
y outside the PT production regime). It is possible to compute this phase diagra
m for gas/water/methanol or the glycols with reasonable accuracy. The major draw
back to this inhibition technique is the large quantity of methanol or glycol re
quired. This impacts both operating costs and logistics, particularly important
for offshore wells and pipelines.[9]
Fig. 2 A general phase diagram illustrating the effect of inhibitors on hydrate pr
evention.[9]