In order to store the propane product separated from the distillation towers of the refinery in reservoirs, and for prevent the hydrate formation in the cooling path, it is necessary to examine the effective parameters on the hydrate formation. In this investigation, effect of ethane on hydrate formation of liquid propane in the presence of iso-butane, n-butane and iso-pentane, was studied. The equilibrium hydrate formation data from the Taguchi experimental design in Minitab and the thermodynamic modeling of the van der Waals and Platteeuw (vdW-P) method in Matlab and PVTsim, were compared. The results of the experiments at three different temperatures (233, 248, 263 K) and three levels of components concentration showed that the amount of equilibrium pressure would decrease with increasing the concentration of iso-butane and n-butane. On the other hand, by increasing the concentration of ethane and iso-pentane, the equilibrium pressure of hydrate formation increases, which will make the hydrate formation practically more difficult. The results of modeling indicated that, the predicted data were in good agreement with the observed ones, as well, and also PVTsim had a better predictor of hydration formation equilibrium condition than the Matlab with 0.72% error.
