Durable Hydrate-phobic Coating with In Situ Self-Replenishing Hydrocarbon Barrier Films for Low Clathrate Hydrate Adhesion

Clathrate hydrate growth, deposition, and plug formation during oil and gas transportation causes blockage of pipelines. An effective strategy to solve this problem is to mitigate the hydrate formation and reduce its adhesion on pipe walls through a coating process. However, durability failure, corrosion, inability to self-heal, high cost, and strong hydrate adhesion remain unsolved issues. To address these challenges, in this work, we present an in situ self-replenishing nonfluorinated durable hydrate-phobic coating of candle soot particles. The candle soot coating reduces hydrate adhesion by promoting a thick barrier film of hydrocarbons between the hydrate and the soot coated substrate. The hydrocarbons permeating the soot coating display a high contact angle for water and inhibit the formation of water bridges between the hydrate and soot coated substrate. The spherical cyclopentane hydrate slides off easily on the candle soot coating inside the cyclopentane environment. The hydrate former, cyclopentane–water emulsion, and THF–water mixture have high contact angles as well as low hydrate adhesion on soot coating simultaneously. In addition, the coating is flow-induced long-term slippery, durable, low cost, anticorrosion, self-cleaning, and suitable for practical applications.