Towards a green hydrate inhibitor: imaging antifreeze proteins on clathrates.
The formation of hydrate plugs in oil and gas pipelines is a serious industrial problem and recently there has been an increased interest in the use of alternative hydrate inhibitors as substitutes for thermodynamic inhibitors like methanol. We show here that antifreeze proteins (AFPs) possess the ability to modify structure II (sII) tetrahydrofuran (THF) hydrate crystal morphologies by adhering to the hydrate surface and inhibiting growth in a similar fashion to the kinetic inhibitor poly-N-vinylpyrrolidone (PVP). The effects of AFPs on the formation and growth rate of high-pressure sII gas mix hydrate demonstrated that AFPs are superior hydrate inhibitors compared to PVP. These results indicate that AFPs may be suitable for the study of new inhibitor systems and represent an important step towards the development of biologically-based hydrate inhibitors.
Gordienko
Raimond
R
Department of Biology, Queen's University, Kingston, Ontario, Canada.
Ohno
Hiroshi
H
Singh
Vinay K
VK
Jia
Zongchao
Z
Ripmeester
John A
JA
Walker
Virginia K
VK
D021301:Antifreeze Proteins / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D003460:Crystallization; D004591:Electrophoresis, Polyacrylamide Gel; D004980:Ethane / Q000737:chemistry; D005663:Furans / Q000737:chemistry*; D049452:Green Fluorescent Proteins / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D008697:Methane / Q000737:chemistry; D008958:Models, Molecular; D011145:Polyvinyls / Q000737:chemistry*; D011407:Propane / Q000737:chemistry; D011759:Pyrrolidines / Q000737:chemistry*; D011993:Recombinant Fusion Proteins / Q000737:chemistry / Q000302:isolation & purification / Q000378:metabolism; D013816:Thermodynamics; D014867:Water / Q000737:chemistry
D021301:Antifreeze Proteins; D005663:Furans; D011145:Polyvinyls; D011759:Pyrrolidines; D011993:Recombinant Fusion Proteins; C505150:poly(N-vinylpyrrolidine); D014867:Water; D049452:Green Fluorescent Proteins; C018674:tetrahydrofuran; D004980:Ethane; D008697:Methane; D011407:Propane