The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document.
The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge covers the following: Patent number, Date patent was issued, Date patent was filed, Title of the patent, Applicant, Inventor, Assignee, Attorney firm, Primary examiner, Assistant examiner, CPCs, and Abstract. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document (in Adobe Acrobat format, aka pdf). To download or print any patent click here.
Patent No.:
Date of Patent:
Feb. 22, 2000
Filed:
Mar. 28, 1996
Karla Schall Colle, Houston, TX (US);
Christine Ann Costello, Easton, PA (US);
Enock Berluche, Phillipsburg, NJ (US);
Russell Harlan Oelfke, Houston, TX (US);
Larry Dalton Talley, Friendswood, TX (US);
Exxon Production Research Company, Houston, TX (US);
Abstract
A method for inhibiting the formation of clathrate hydrates in a fluid having hydrate forming constituents is claimed. More specifically, the method can be used in treating a petroleum fluid stream such as natural gas conveyed in a pipe to inhibit the formation of a hydrate restriction in the pipe. The hydrate inhibitors used for practicing the method comprise substantially water soluble polymers having N-vinyl amide or N-allyl amide units. Specific examples of such copolymers include, N-vinyl-N-methylacetamide (VIMA) copolymerized with acryloylpyrrolidine (APYD) or acryloylpiperidine (APID), and more preferably, VIMA copolymerized with N-substituted methacrylamides, such as N-isopropylmethacrylamide (iPMAM) and methacryloylpyrrolidine (MAPYD) to produce inhibitors for practicing the claimed method.