Development of a Surface-Active Coating for Promoted Gas Hydrate Formation

Three-Dimensional-Printed Polymeric Cores for Methane Hydrate Enhanced Growth

Polymeric models of the core prepared with a Raise3D Pro2 3D printer were employed for methane hydrate formation. Polylactic acid (PLA), acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS), carbon fiber reinforced polyamide-6 (UltraX), thermoplastic polyurethane (PolyFlex), and polycarbonate (ePC) were used for printing. Each plastic core was rescanned using X-ray tomography to identify the effective porosity volumes. It was revealed that the polymer type matters in enhancing methane hydrate formation. All polymer cores except PolyFlex promoted the hydrate growth (up to complete water-to-hydrate conversion with PLA core). At the same time, changing the filling degree of the porous volume with water from partial to complete decreased the efficiency of hydrate growth by two times. Nevertheless, the polymer type variation allowed three main features: (1) managing the hydrate growth direction via water or gas preferential transfer through the effective porosity; (2) the blowing of hydrate crystals into the volume of water; and (3) the growth of hydrate arrays from the steel walls of the cell towards the polymer core due to defects in the hydrate crust, providing an additional contact between water and gas. These features are probably controlled by the hydrophobicity of the pore surface. The proper filament selection allows the hydrate formation mode to be set for specific process requirements.

Controlled Production of Natural Gas Hydrates in an Experimental Device with an Internal Circulation Circuit

For countries with limited access to conventional hydrocarbon gases, methane hydrates have emerged as a potential energy source. In view of the European Union’s requirements to reduce the energy intensity of technological processes and increase energy security, it appears promising to accumulate natural gas and biomethane in the form of hydrate structures and release them if necessary. Storing gas in this form in an energy-efficient manner creates interest in developing and innovating technologies in this area. Hydrates that form in gas pipelines are generated by a more or less random process and are an undesirable phenomenon in gas transportation. In our case, the process implemented in the proposed experimental device is a controlled process, which can generate hydrates in orders of magnitude shorter times compared to the classical methods of generating natural gas hydrates in autoclaves by saturating water only. The recirculation of gas-saturated water has been shown to be the most significant factor in reducing the energy consumption of natural gas hydrate generation. Not only is the energy intensity of generation reduced, but also its generation time. In this paper, a circuit diagram for an experimental device for natural gas hydrate generation is shown with complete description, principle of operation, and measurement methodology. The natural gas hydrate formation process is analyzed using a mathematical model that correlates well with the measured hydrate formation times. Hydrates may become a current challenge in the future and, once verified, may find applications in various fields of technology or industry.

Intensification of Gas Hydrate Formation Processes by Renewal of Interfacial Area between Phases

This paper presents the analysis of the main reasons for a significant decrease in the intensity of diffusion processes during the formation of gas hydrates; solutions to this problem are proposed in a new process flow diagram for the continuous synthesis of gas hydrates. The physical processes, occurring at the corresponding stages of the process flow, have been described in detail. In the proposed device, gas hydrate is formed at the boundary of gas bubbles immersed in cooled water. The dynamic effects arising at the bubble boundary contribute to the destruction of a forming gas hydrate structure, making it possible to renew the contact surface and ensure efficient heat removal from the reaction zone. The article proposes an assessment technique for the main process parameters in the synthesis of hydrates based on the criterion of thermodynamic parameters optimization. The optimization criterion determines the relationship of intensity of heat and mass transfer processes at the phase contact interface of reacting phases, correlating with the maximum GH synthesis rate, and makes it possible to determine optimum thermodynamic parameters in the reactor zone.

Rapid Gas Hydrate Formation-Evaluation of Three Reactor Concepts and Feasibility Study

Gas hydrates show great potential with regard to various technical applications, such as gas conditioning, separation and storage. Hence, there has been an increased interest in applied gas hydrate research worldwide in recent years. This paper describes the development of an energetically promising, highly attractive rapid gas hydrate production process that enables the instantaneous conditioning and storage of gases in the form of solid hydrates, as an alternative to costly established processes, such as, for example, cryogenic demethanization. In the first step of the investigations, three different reactor concepts for rapid hydrate formation were evaluated. It could be shown that coupled spraying with stirring provided the fastest hydrate formation and highest gas uptakes in the hydrate phase. In the second step, extensive experimental series were executed, using various different gas compositions on the example of synthetic natural gas mixtures containing methane, ethane and propane. Methane is eliminated from the gas phase and stored in gas hydrates. The experiments were conducted under moderate conditions (8 bar(g), 9–14 °C), using tetrahydrofuran as a thermodynamic promoter in a stoichiometric concentration of 5.56 mole%. High storage capacities, formation rates and separation efficiencies were achieved at moderate operation conditions supported by rough economic considerations, successfully showing the feasibility of this innovative concept. An adapted McCabe-Thiele diagram was created to approximately determine the necessary theoretical separation stage numbers for high purity gas separation requirements.