Combustion of a Powder Layer of Methane Hydrate: The Influence of Layer Height and Air Velocity Above the Layer

The paper studies the dissociation and combustion of a layer of methane hydrate powder at a forced air flow over the upper surface of the layer (the air velocity is directed parallel to the upper surface of the layer). The influence of the layer thickness and air velocity on the combustion of gas hydrate is investigated. The calculated curves for the effect of the heat transfer coefficient, external convection and vapor concentration on the combustion temperature are obtained. The layer thickness and the air velocity significantly affect the dissociation rate of methane hydrate.

     

Injection of A Hydrate-Forming Gas into A Snow Layer Saturated with the Same Gas

The problem of injection of a hydrate-forming gas (methane) into a snow layer whose pores are initially saturated with the same gas is solved. Self-similar solutions describing the temperature and pressure fields and the snow, hydrate, and gas distributions in the layer are constructed. It is shown that, depending on the initial thermobaric state of the snow–methane system and the rate of gas injection, three characteristic zones can be distinguished in the filtration region: a near zone, in which snow is completely converted into hydrate and, consequently, the hydrate layer is saturated with gas; an intermediate zone, in which gas, snow, and hydrate are in phase equilibrium; far zone filled with gas and snow. It is shown that the length of the heated zone decreases with increasing initial snow content in the layer and with decreasing injected gas pressure. It is also shown that the length of the region of hydrate formation increases with increasing permeability. It is noted that the heating of the intermediate zone occurs more rapidly.     

深海天然气水合物机械?热联合开采方法研究综述

天然气水合物由于储量大、污染低等优点, 已成为我国非常重要的战略能源, 世界各国也加快了天然气水合物的勘探和开发工作. 经济高效的开采方法以及相关的灾害控制和环境保护是对天然气水合物进行商业化开采必须要解决好的两个关键问题. 目前, 注热法和降压法的联合使用被认为是最为有效的天然气水合物开采方法. 在降压法和注热法中, 天然气水合物开采涉及传热、相变、渗流和变形等物理过程和效应, 而传热最慢且相变会消耗大量的热量, 无法直接采用常规的单纯依靠渗流原理的油气开采方案来开采天然气水合物. 我国南海的天然气水合物主要赋存于粉砂质黏土和粉细砂等类型的沉积物中, 胶结性差且埋深较浅. 常规的开采方法还不适合我国南海的水合物开采, 需要考虑新型的开采方式, 这其中提高沉积层中的热传导效率是天然气水合物开采的关键. 郑哲敏提出了机械?热联合开采的新概念方法, 利用无穷无尽表层海水的热量, 基于对流传热的原理和管道输送技术, 并兼顾类似采煤挖掘可能导致的深海浅软地层安全问题. 天然气水合物机械?热联合开采法是一种新的概念模式, 具有开采可控、高效且能有效降低地层安全性风险的优点. 本文针对该新方法的能量、装备、经济可行性进行综合评估, 阐述了针对核心问题管道含相变气液固多相流动、地层安全方面的研究进展, 展望了未来推广应用的空间.      

Front Regime of Heat and Mass Transfer in a Gas Hydrate Reservoir under the Negative Temperature Conditions

The analytical self-similar solution to the nonlinear problem of the front regime of heatand- mass transfer in a gas hydrate reservoir under the negative temperature conditions is obtained. In the initial state the reservoir is assumed to be saturated with a heterogeneous gas hydrate–ice–gas mixture. In particular cases there may be no ice or/and gas. The ice and gas are formed behind the gas hydrate dissociation front. The calculations are presented for a stable hydrate–gas system. The critical curves are constructed in the well-pressure–reservoir-permeability plane. These curves separate the domains of the front regime and the regime of volume gas hydrate dissociation ahead of the front. The velocity of the gas hydrate dissociation front is investigated as a function of various problem parameters. The characteristic temperature and pressure distributions corresponding to various regimes on the diagram are investigated.     

Heat transfer during gas hydrate formation in gas-liquid slug flow

A model of heat transfer during gas hydrate formation at a gas-liquid interface in gas-liquid slug flow is suggested. Under the assumption of perfect mixing in liquid plugs, the recurrent relations for temperature in then-th liquid plug and heat and mass fluxes from then-th gas slug are derived. Total mass and heat fluxes in gas-liquid slug flow during gas hydrate formation are determined.     

Injection of carbon dioxide into a reservoir saturated with methane and water

This paper presents a mathematical model for the injection of carbon dioxide into a natural gas reservoir saturated with methane and water accompanied by the formation of carbon dioxide hydrate in an extended region. The dependence of the coordinates of the boundaries of the region of phase transitions on the pressure of the injected gas and the initial parameters of the reservoir are investigated. It is established that the velocity of the near boundary of the region of hydrate formation decreases with increasing water saturation and initial temperature of the reservoir and the velocity of the far boundary of the region of phase transitions increases with increasing pressure of the injected gas and reservoir permeability. It is shown that at high initial temperatures of the reservoir, a regime is possible in which replacement of methane by carbon dioxide without hydrate formation occurs at the far interface, and at the near interface, water is completely incorporated into gas hydrate.     

天然气水合物开发多物理场特征及耦合渗流研究进展与建议

天然气水合物作为一种非常规的清洁能源, 在全球分布广、资源量大. 自20世纪90年代以来, 加拿大、美国、日本、中国已经先后进行了陆域及海域的水合物试采, 但发现出砂、单井日产气量低、稳产时间短等问题, 试采产量远不能满足商业化开发的需求, 其中核心问题是对水合物开发过程中的相变、多相多组分多场耦合渗流特征的认识不够明晰. 本文根据天然气水合物开发过程中涉及的渗流场、温度场、化学场、力学场等多场耦合特征, 重点综述水合物生成/分解对各物理场主要特征参数的影响, 包括水合物储层的孔隙度、水合物饱和度、渗透率、相对渗透率等基础物性参数及其动态演变, 天然气水合物的导热系数、比热容、热扩散系数以及水合物生成/分解热等热力学参数, 天然气水合物生成、分解动力学特征, 纯水合物以及含水合物沉积物的力学性质等, 最后阐述了天然气水合物开发渗流中的多场耦合关系及相互作用, 提出了今后水合物开发多物理场特征及耦合渗流的科学研究、技术开发的有关建议.      

Mathematical model of hydrate formation from microbial methane in marine sediments

A mathematical model of gas hydrate formation from microbial methane in marine sediments is proposed. An analytical solution of the problem is obtained, determining dimensionless parameters are distinguished, and numerical investigation is performed. In the region of main parameters a critical diagram of hydrate existence is plotted. It is shown that at small sediment accumulation rates microbial methane disperses due to diffusion of dissolved gas which does not reach saturation. If the sediment accumulation is intense, the region of possible hydrate formation falls within the region of stable thermodynamic states only at large depths. Correspondingly, in these cases, the probability of formation of hydrate-containing sediment layers is small. The most probable hydrate formation regime is realized at moderate sediment accumulation rates corresponding to Péclet numbers of the order of unity.     

Numerical investigation of the decomposition of gas hydrates coexisting with gas in natural reservoirs

The problem of methane hydrate decomposition in a reservoir saturated with a gas and hydrate mixture is investigated numerically. The results of the numerical simulation and an analytic solution obtained in the linear approximation are compared. It is shown that for high-permeability rocks the convective heat transfer in the near-well space of the reservoir predominates over the conductive transfer. This makes the use of intra-well heaters ineffective. It is found that an increase in the reservoir and well pressures and a decrease in the permeability suppress the formation of an extended hydrate dissociation region. Critical diagrams of existence of the frontal decomposition regime are constructed.     

Numerical modeling of formation of a gas hydrate in a finite-length porous bed purged by a gas

The process of formation of a gas hydrate in a finite-length porous medium partially saturated with water, which is purged by a cold gas, is studied. The influence of the initial parameters of the porous medium and purging conditions on the evolution of hydrate saturation and temperature is examined.     

The Experimental and Numerical Studies on Gas Production from Hydrate Reservoir by Depressurization

A set of experimental system to study hydrate dissociation in porous media is built and some experiments on hydrate dissociation by depressurization are carried out. A mathematical model is developed to simulate the hydrate dissociation by depressurization in hydrate-bearing porous media. The model can be used to analyze the effects of the flow of multiphase fluids, the kinetic process and endothermic process of hydrate dissociation, ice-water phase equilibrium, the variation of permeability, convection and conduction on the hydrate dissociation, and gas and water productions. The numerical results agree well with the experimental results, which validate our mathematical model. For a 3-D hydrate reservoir of Class 3, the evolutions of pressure, temperature, and saturations are elucidated and the effects of some main parameters on gas and water rates are analyzed. Numerical results show that gas can be produced effectively from hydrate reservoir in the first stage of depressurization. Then, methods such as thermal stimulation or inhibitor injection should be considered due to the energy deficiency of formation energy. The numerical results for 3-D hydrate reservoir of Class 1 show that the overlying gas hydrate zone can apparently enhance gas rate and prolong life span of gas reservoir.     

Simulation of the formation of hydrates during gas flow in tubes

Problems of the freezing and decomposition of gaseous hydrates on gas pipeline walls are considered. This process is governed by heat transfer between the gas and surrounding rocks. Simultaneous study of the transport equations in the tube and the heat conduction equations in the hydrate and surrounding rocks makes it possible to follow the variation of the thickness of the hydrate layer in time and with respect to the coordinate. It is shown that there exist gas flow regimes in which there is self-purification of the tube wall of hydrate due to heating of the surrounding rocks. On the other hand, it is possible to have regimes in which there is complete blocking of the flow section by the hydrates.Translated from Izvestiya Akademii Nauk SSSR, Mekhanika Zhidkosti i Gaza, No. 5, pp. 105–112, September–October, 1982.     

一种新的海洋浅层水合物开采法——机械-热联合法

天然气水合物是国家的战略能源之一.天然气水合物分解相变使其开采难度高于常规化石能源.国际天然气水合物试验性开采表明通过降压、注热等方法难以满足商业化开采的需求,尤其在水合物位于浅层、软土情况下,持续稳定且高效率的热量供给是其瓶颈.天然气水合物机械-热联合开采是一种新概念模式,即通过粉碎水合物沉积物通过管道输运并在内部分解,这样既增加了传热的表面积,又利用海水热量和对流传热提高了能量供给效率.分析表明:利用该方法开采时水温过高会导致水合物分解过快而产生不稳定流,温度过低又导致水合物二次生成或结冰;水流流速既要能使被粉碎的水合物沉积物颗粒悬浮和流动,又不能导致流动失稳.为了实现高效安全的机械-热水合物开采,经过初步分析提出原位水合物地层粉碎的颗粒直径设定在0.1~1.0 cm之间,控制水流速度为0.22~0.67m/s,温差保证在5K以上,混合物中水的体积分数大于0.85.      

沉积物中水合物形成机理及分解动力学研究进展

对沉积物中水合物形成机理的研究进展作了述评. 简述了纯水合物生成的机理及研究进展, 包括成核机理、铠甲效应、记忆效应等现象和机理;阐述了低可溶气体如甲烷生成水合物的难点, 以及主要因素如孔隙尺寸对沉积物中水合物生成的影响研究进展; 简要介绍了目前关于水合物形成和分解动力学的代表性数学模型;并对今后的研究方向进行了阐述.      

Modeling of Gas Hydrate Formation Upon Injection of Carbon Dioxide Gas into A Natural Reservoir

This paper presents the results of numerical modeling of gas hydrate formation upon injection of carbon dioxide into a finite-length reservoir saturated with methane and water. It is shown that at different stages, hydrate formation can occur on both the frontal surface and in a reservoir region of finite length. The effects of pressure at the reservoir boundaries and the effects of the permeability and initial water saturation of the reservoir on the hydrate formation process were studied. The dependences of the time of the complete conversion of water into gas hydrate in the entire reservoir on the injection pressure and reservoir permeability were obtained.     

The simulation of gas production from oceanic gas hydrate reservoir by the combination of ocean surface warm water flooding with depressurization

A new method is proposed to produce gas from oceanic gas hydrate reservoir by combining the ocean surface warm water flooding with depressurization which can efficiently utilize the synthetic effects of thermal, salt and depressurization on gas hydrate dissociation. The method has the advantage of high efficiency, low cost and enhanced safety. Based on the proposed conceptual method, the physical and mathematical models are established, in which the effects of the flow of multiphase fluid, the kinetic process of hydrate dissociation, the endothermic process of hydrate dissociation, ice-water phase equilibrium, salt inhibition, dispersion, convection and conduction on the hydrate dissociation and gas and water production are considered. The gas and water rates, formation pressure for the combination method are compared with that of the single depressurization, which is referred to the method in which only depressurization is used. The results show that the combination method can remedy the deficiency of individual producing methods. It has the advantage of longer stable period of high gas rate than the single depressurization. It can also reduce the geologic hazard caused by the formation deformation due to the maintaining of the formation pressure by injected ocean warm water.     

Formation of a gas hydrate due to injection of a cold gas into a porous reservoir partly saturated by water

Specific features of formation of gas hydrates due to injection of a gas into a porous medium initially filled by a gas and water are considered. Self-similar solutions of an axisymmetric problem, which describe the distributions of the basic parameters in the reservoir, are constructed. The existence of solutions is demonstrated, which predict gas hydrate formation both on the frontal surface and in the volume zone. __________ Translated from Prikladnaya Mekhanika i Tekhnicheskaya Fizika, Vol. 49, No. 3, pp. 137–150, May–June, 2008.     

Formation of hydrate in injection of liquid carbon dioxide into a reservoir saturated with methane andwater

Injection of liquid carbon dioxide into a depleted natural gas field is investigated. A mathematical model of the process which takes into account forming CO₂ hydrate and methane displacement is suggested. An asymptotic solution of the problem is found in the one-dimensional approximation. It is shown that three injection regimes can exist depending on the parameters. In the case of weak injection, liquid carbon dioxide boils up with formation of carbon-dioxide gas. The intense regime is characterized by formation of CO₂ hydrate or a mixture of CO₂ and CH₄ hydrates. Critical diagrams of the process which determine the parameter ranges of the corresponding regimes are plotted.     

Mathematical model of axisymmetric quasi-steady-state heat and mass transfer in a gas hydrate reservoir

Two problems of axisymmetric gas (gas and water) flow through a reservoir which contains a heterogeneous mixture, namely, gas hydrate, ice (water), and gas, are considered. The exact solutions to the corresponding steady-state and quasi-steady-state nonlinear problems are found. The critical diagrams are constructed for various flow regimes. The characteristic distributions of the gas hydrate, ice (water), and gas saturations are shown for various values of the parameters.     

Effect of decomposition of a gas hydrate on the gas recovery from a reservoir containing hydrate and gas in the free state

The problem of gas recovery in the process of methane hydrate dissociation in a reservoir saturated with gas-hydrate mixture is considered. The mathematical model of hydrate decomposition into gas and water is generalized to include the negative temperature interval and takes ice formation into account. The solution of the problem is represented in the self-similar approximation. It is shown that there exists a transition hydrate decomposition regime in which water and ice are formed simultaneously. A comparative analysis of the recovery is carried out on the basis of relations derived for the masses of recovered gas in different hydrate dissociation regimes. It is shown that an anomalous increase in the recovered gas volumes is observed in the transition hydrate dissociation regime.__________Translated from Izvestiya Rossiiskoi Academii Nauk, Mekhanika Zhidkosti i Gaza, No. 1, 2005, pp. 132–142. Original Russian Text Copyright © 2005 by Tsypkin.