Toward Greener Flow Assurance: Review of Experimental and Computational Methods in Designing and Screening Kinetic Hydrate Inhibitors

In the challenging environment of deep-sea oil and gas extraction, the occurrence of hydrate plugging due to gas hydrate formation and deposition in subsea pipelines poses significant operational risks. This issue, leading to pipeline or valve blockages, not only jeopardizes the safe extraction of oil and gas resources but also poses a threat to the marine environment. To address this problem and achieve low-carbon and green flow assurance, the design and development of new, efficient, and environmentally friendly kinetic hydrate inhibitors (KHIs) have become essential for the petroleum industry. The review discusses the current research status of KHIs, providing an overview of KHI types and evaluation methods, emphasizing the combination of molecular dynamics (MD) simulations with experimental methods, i.e., the combination of “virtual and reality”. The inhibition mechanisms of KHIs and their synergistic effects with each other (synergists) are outlined. The direction of the development of KHIs, including greener chemicals, higher adaptability to multiphase transmission environments, and more functions, is proposed. Furthermore, the utilization of the machine-learning technique to accelerate the screening of KHIs is discussed. The aim of this review is to serve as a valuable reference for researchers, offering insights into the mechanism of KHIs and suggesting future directions for the design and screening of KHIs.