{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,10,29]],"date-time":"2026-10-29T13:53:04Z","timestamp":1793281984697,"version":"4.5.0"},"reference-count":36,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"8","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2025,8,12]],"date-time":"2025-08-12T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1754956800000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"funder":[{"name":"Hubei Province Science and Technology Plan Project (Key R&amp;D Special Project), China","award":["2023BCB070"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["2023BCB070"]}]},{"name":"Hubei Province Science and Technology Plan Project (Key R&amp;D Special Project), China","award":["2022B01042"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["2022B01042"]}]},{"name":"Key R&amp;D Program Project in Xinjiang, China","award":["2023BCB070"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["2023BCB070"]}]},{"name":"Key R&amp;D Program Project in Xinjiang, China","award":["2022B01042"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["2022B01042"]}]}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Gels"],"abstract":"<jats:p>In deepwater drilling operations, inhibiting methane hydrate (MH) formation is critical for wellbore flow assurance. This study synthesized a zwitterionic polymer NDAD and evaluated its hydrate inhibition performance through high-pressure reactor tests, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), and molecular simulations. Results demonstrate that NDAD at concentrations of 1.0 wt% extends MH formation time by 4.9 times compared to conventional inhibitor PVCap. Notably, NaCl (10\u201315 wt%) synergistically enhances inhibition efficiency by inducing NDAD chain stretching to form physical gel networks, increasing solution viscosity by 98%. This gel structure obstructs methane\u2013water diffusion, prolonging hydrate induction time. Response surface methodology (RSM) identifies NDAD dosage as the primary control factor for inhibition efficacy. Molecular simulations confirm that NDAD inhibits hydrate formation through dual pathways: (i) competitive hydration by ionic groups disrupting water cage structures and (ii) gel networks imposing mass transfer resistance to methane diffusion.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/gels11080637","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2025,8,12]],"date-time":"2025-08-12T16:30:36Z","timestamp":1755016236000},"page":"637","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":2,"title":["Salt-Induced Gel Formation by Zwitterionic Polymer for Synergistic Methane Hydrate Inhibition"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"11","author":[{"given":"Fei","family":"Gao","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"School of Petroleum Engineering, Yangtze University, National Engineering Research Center for Oil & Gas Drilling and Completion Technology, Wuhan 430100, China"},{"name":"Hubei Key Laboratory of Oil and Gas Drilling and Production Engineering, Yangtze University, Wuhan 430100, China"},{"name":"State Key Laboratory of Low Carbon Catalysis and Carbon Dioxide Utilization, Yangtze University, Wuhan 430100, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Shijun","family":"Tang","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Turpan Oil Production Plant, PetroChina Tuha Oilfeld Company, Hami 839000, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-7747-2423","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Peng","family":"Xu","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"School of Petroleum Engineering, Yangtze University, National Engineering Research Center for Oil & Gas Drilling and Completion Technology, Wuhan 430100, China"},{"name":"Hubei Key Laboratory of Oil and Gas Drilling and Production Engineering, Yangtze University, Wuhan 430100, China"},{"name":"State Key Laboratory of Low Carbon Catalysis and Carbon Dioxide Utilization, Yangtze University, Wuhan 430100, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Jiancheng","family":"Wu","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Daqing Oilfield NO. 9 Production Plant, Daqing 163000, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Xinru","family":"Li","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"School of Petroleum Engineering, Yangtze University, National Engineering Research Center for Oil & Gas Drilling and Completion Technology, Wuhan 430100, China"},{"name":"Hubei Key Laboratory of Oil and Gas Drilling and Production Engineering, Yangtze University, Wuhan 430100, China"},{"name":"State Key Laboratory of Low Carbon Catalysis and Carbon Dioxide Utilization, Yangtze University, Wuhan 430100, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2025,8,12]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"4264","DOI":"10.1016\/j.apenergy.2011.06.035","article-title":"LNG: An eco-friendly cryogenic fuel for sustainable development","volume":"88","author":"Kumar","year":"2011","journal-title":"Appl. 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