Abstract
The gas hydrates are probably most sensitive to climate change since they are stable only under specific conditions of high pressure and low temperature. One of the main factors responsible for formation of gas hydrates is the saturation of the gases with water vapor. Quantitative phase equilibrium data and understanding of the roles of water component in the phase behavior of the heterogeneous water-hydrocarbon-hydrate mixture are of importance and of engineering value. In this study, the water content of ethylene gas in equilibrium with hydrate and water phases were analyzed by theoretical and experimental methods at temperatures between 274.15 up to 291.75 K and pressures between 593.99 to 8,443.18 kPa. The experimental and theoretical enhancement factors (EF) for the water content of ethylene gas and the fugacity coefficients of water and ethylene in gas phase were determined and compared with each other over the entire range of pressure carried out in this experiment. In order to get the theoretical enhancement factors, the modified Redlich-Kwong equation of state was used. The Peng-Robinson equations and modified Redlich-Kwong equations of state were used to get the fugacity coefficients for ethylene and water in the gas phase. The results predicted by both equations agree very well with the experimental values for the fugacity coefficients of the compressed ethylene gas containing small amount of water, whereas, those of water vapor do not in the ethylene rich gas at high temperature for hydrate formation locus.