The detection of tetrahydrofuran hydrate formation and saturation using magnetic resonance imaging technique

Tetrahydrofuran (THF) hydrate was formed in bulk as well as in glass beads pack with a mean diameter of 3.0 mm by controlling the temperature under ambient pressure. Images of THF hydrate formation procedure were obtained using the magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) technique. The experiment results showed that MRI is an effective method for the detection of hydrate formation. Saturation of hydrate formed both in bulk and glass beads can be confirmed by intensity integration of MRI images.     

NMR/MRI study of clathrate hydrate mechanisms

Clathrate hydrates are of great importance in many aspects. However, hydrate formation and dissociation mechanisms, essential to all hydrate applications, are still not well understood due to the limitations of experimental techniques capable of providing dynamic and structural information on a molecular level. NMR has been shown to be a powerful tool to noninvasively measure molecular level dynamic information. In this work, we measured nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spin lattice relaxation times (T1's) of tetrahydrofuran (THF) in liquid deuterium oxide (D2O) during THF hydrate formation and dissociation. At the same time, we also used magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) to monitor hydrate formation and dissociation patterns. The results showed that solid hydrate significantly influences coexisting fluid structure. Molecular evidence of residual structure was identified. Hydrate formation and dissociation mechanisms were proposed based on the NMR/MRI observations.     

Numerical studies of hydrate dissociation and gas production behavior in porous media during depressurization process

In this study,a numerical model is developed to investigate the hydrate dissociation and gas production in porous media by depressurization.A series of simulation runs are conducted to study the impacts of permeability characteristics,including permeability reduction exponent,absolute permeability,hydrate accumulation habits and hydrate saturation,sand average grain size and irreducible water saturation.The effects of the distribution of hydrate in porous media are examined by adapting conceptual models of hydrate accumulation habits into simulations to govern the evolution of permeability with hydrate decomposition,which is also compared with the conventional reservoir permeability model,i.e.Corey model.The simulations show that the hydrate dissociation rate increases with the decrease of permeability reduction exponent,hydrate saturation and the sand average grain size.Compared with the conceptual models of hydrate accumulation habits,our simulations indicate that Corey model overpredicts the gas production and the performance of hydrate coating models is superior to that of hydrate filling models in gas production,which behavior does follow by the order of capillary coating>pore coating>pore filling>capillary filling.From the analysis of t1/2,some interesting results are suggested as follows:(1) there is a "switch" value(the"switch"absolute permeability) for laboratory-scale hydrate dissociation in porous media,the absolute permeability has almost no influence on the gas production behavior when the permeability exceeds the "switch" value.In this study,the "switch" value of absolute permeability can be estimated to be between 10 and 50 md.(2) An optimum value of initial effective water saturation Sw,e exists where hydrate dissociation rate reaches the maximum and the optimum value largely coincides with the value of irreducible water saturation S wr,e.For the case of Sw,Swr,e,there are different control mechanisms dominating the process of hydrate dissociation and gas production.     

5A分子筛粉末对四氢呋喃水合物的生成及分解过程的影响

在低于0 ℃和常压下, 将粉碎并筛分后的成型5A分子筛粉末加入四氢呋喃-水(二者质量比为19:81)体系中, 用显微镜观察5A分子筛粉末的存在对四氢呋喃水合物生成和分解过程的影响. 结果表明, 5A分子筛粉末能够促进四氢呋喃水合物的生成. 5A分子筛粉末存在下, 四氢呋喃水合物生成方式主要表现为两种, 脉状生成和块状生成; 同时5A分子筛粉末能够提高四氢呋喃水合物结晶所需要的温度, 降低四氢呋喃水合物的分解温度; 而且5A分子筛粉末粒径的大小及分布对四氢呋喃水合物生成及分解的特性也有很大影响.     

Study of the permeability characteristics of porous media with methane hydrate by pore network model

The permeability in the methane hydrate reservoir is one of the key parameters in estimating the gas production performance and the flow behavior of gas and water during dissociation. In this paper, a three-dimensional cubic pore-network model based on invasion percolation is developed to study the effect of hydrate particle formation and growth habit on the permeability. The variation of permeability in porous media with different hydrate saturation is studied by solving the network problem. The simulation results are well consistent with the experimental data. The proposed model predicts that the permeability will reduce exponentially with the increase of hydrate saturation, which is crucial in developing a deeper understanding of the mechanism of hydrate formation and dissociation in porous media.     

Numerical Simulation on the Dissociation,Formation, and Recovery of Gas Hydrates on Microscale Approach

Investigations into the structures of gas hydrates, the mechanisms of formation, and dissociation with modern instruments on the experimental aspects, including Raman, X-ray, XRD, X-CT, MRI, and pore networks, and numerical analyses, including CFD, LBM, and MD, were carried out. The gas hydrate characteristics for dissociation and formation are multi-phase and multi-component complexes. Therefore, it was important to carry out a comprehensive investigation to improve the concept of mechanisms involved in microscale porous media, emphasizing micro-modeling experiments, 3D imaging, and pore network modeling. This article reviewed the studies, carried out to date, regarding conditions surrounding hydrate dissociation, hydrate formation, and hydrate recovery, especially at the pore-scale phase in numerical simulations. The purpose of visualizing pores in microscale sediments is to obtain a robust analysis to apply the gas hydrate exploitation technique. The observed parameters, including temperature, pressure, concentration, porosity, saturation rate, and permeability, etc., present an interrelationship, to achieve an accurate production process method and recovery of gas hydrates.     

Thermodynamic properties of methane hydrate in quartz powder

Using the experimental method of precision adiabatic calorimetry, the thermodynamic (equilibrium) properties of methane hydrate in quartz sand with a grain size of 90-100 microm have been studied in the temperature range of 260-290 K and at pressures up to 10 MPa. The equilibrium curves for the water-methane hydrate-gas and ice-methane hydrate-gas transitions, hydration number, latent heat of hydrate decomposition along the equilibrium three-phase curves, and the specific heat capacity of the hydrate have been obtained. It has been experimentally shown that the equilibrium three-phase curves of the methane hydrate in porous media are shifted to the lower temperature and high pressure with respect to the equilibrium curves of the bulk hydrate. In these experiments, we have found that the specific heat capacity of the hydrate, within the accuracy of our measurements, coincides with the heat capacity of ice. The latent heat of the hydrate dissociation for the ice-hydrate-gas transition is equal to 143 +/- 10 J/g, whereas, for the transition from hydrate to water and gas, the latent heat is 415 +/- 15 J/g. The hydration number has been evaluated in the different hydrate conditions and has been found to be equal to n = 6.16 +/- 0.06. In addition, the influence of the water saturation of the porous media and its distribution over the porous space on the measured parameters has been experimentally studied.     

Molecular hydrogen storage in binary THF-H2 clathrate hydrates

The hydrogen storage capacity of binary THF-H(2) clathrate hydrate has been determined as a function of formation pressure, THF composition, and time. The amount of hydrogen stored in the stoichiometric hydrate increases with pressure and exhibits asymptotic (Langmuir) behavior to approximately 1.0 wt % H(2). This hydrogen concentration corresponds to one hydrogen molecule occupying each of the small 5(12) cavities and one THF molecule in each large 5(12)6(4) cavity in the hydrate framework. Contrary to previous reports, hydrogen storage was not increased upon decreasing the THF concentration below the stoichiometric 5.6 mol % solution to 0.5 mol %, at constant pressure, even after one week. This provides strong evidence that THF preferentially occupies the large 5(12)6(4) cavity over hydrogen, for the range of experimental conditions tested. The maximum amount of hydrogen stored in this binary hydrate was about 1.0 wt % at moderate pressure (<60 MPa) and is independent of the initial THF concentration over the range of conditions tested.     

Experimental studies of the formation and dissociation of methane hydrate in loess

In order to study the nature of gas hydrate in porous media, the formation and dissociation processes of methane hydrate in loess were investigated. Five cooling rates were applied to form methane hydrate. The nucleation times of methane hydrate formation at each cooling rate were measured for comparison. The experimental results show that cooling rate is a significant factor affecting the nucleation of methane hydrate and gas conversion. Under the same initial conditions, the faster the cooling rate, the shorter the nucleation time, and the lower the methane gas conversion. Five dissociating temperatures were applied to conduct the dissociation experiment of methane hydrate formed in loess. The experimental results indicated that the temperature evidently controlled the dissociation of methane hydrate in loess and the higher the dissociating temperature, the faster the dissociating rates of methane hydrate.     

Micro-Raman investigations of mixed gas hydrates

We report laser Raman spectroscopic measurements on mixed hydrates (clathrates), with guest molecules tetrahydrofuran (THF) and methane (CH₄), at ambient pressure and at temperatures from 175 to 280 K. Gas hydrates were synthesized with different concentrations of THF ranging from 5.88 to 1.46 mol%. In all cases THF molecules occupied the large cages of sII hydrate. The present studies demonstrate formation of sII clathrates with CH₄ molecules occupying unfilled cages for concentrations of THF ranging from 5.88 to 2.95 mol%. The Raman spectral signature of hydrates with 1.46 mol% THF are distinctly different; hydrate growth was non-uniform and structural transformation occurred from sII to sI prior to clathrate melting.     

Comparison of the water change characteristics between the formation and dissociation of methane hydrate and the freezing and thawing of ice in sand

Hydrate formation and dissociation processes are always accompanied by water migration in porous media, which is similar to the ice. In our study, a novel pF-meter sensor which could detect the changes of water content inside sand was first applied to hydrate formation and dissociation processes. It also can study the water change characteristics in the core scale of a partially saturated silica sand sample and compare the differences of water changes between the processes of formation and dissociation of methane hydrate and freezing and thawing of ice. The experimental results showed that the water changes in the processes of formation and dissociation of methane hydrate were basically similar to that of the freezing and thawing of ice in sand. When methane hydrate or ice was formed, water changes showed the decrease in water content on the whole and the pF values rose following the formation processes. However, there were very obvious differences between the ice thawing and hydrate dissociation.     

Promoting effect of super absorbent polymer on hydrate formation

The effect of super absorbent polymer (SAP) on the formation of tetrahydrofuran (THF) hydrate was studied by the successional cooling method. It was found that THF solution samples with 0.004 wt% and 0.03 wt% of SAP formed THF hydrate completely during the same cooling process. The corresponding induction time was 16-29 min, 14-31 min, respectively, which was obviously shorter than that of THF solution samples without SAP (25-62 min). It indicated that SAP accelerated the formation of THF hydrate. At the same time, the pictures of hydrate formation with and without SAP had been compared. It was found that SAP did not change the morphology of the hydrate. Finally, the mechanism of SAP promoting effect on the formation of THF hydrate was suggested.     

活性炭中甲烷水合物的分解动力学

在封闭体系内,在初始分解压力0.1 MPa,温度范围276～265 K之间,测定了 五组甲烷水合物在活性炭中的解动力学数据。分析了甲烷水合物在活性炭中分解的 物理过程,提出了以微分方程表达的宏观分解动力学模型。使用单步积分的吉尔（ Gear)方法解得微分方程的数值解,结合单纯形最优化方法拟合模型参数,模型计 算值与实验值符合良好。     

Modeling heating curve for gas hydrate dissociation in porous media

A method for modeling the heating curve for gas hydrate dissociation in porous media at isochoric conditions (constant cell volume) is presented. This method consists of using an equation of state of the gas, the cumulative volume distribution (CVD) of the porous medium, and a van der Waals-Platteeuw-type thermodynamic model that includes a capillary term. The proposed method was tested to predict the heating curves for methane hydrate dissociation in a mesoporous silica glass for saturated conditions (liquid volume = pore volume) and for a fractional conversion of water to hydrate of 1 (100% of the available water was converted to hydrate). The shape factor (F) of the hydrate-water interface was found equal to 1, supporting a cylindrical shape for the hydrate particles during hydrate dissociation. Using F = 1, it has been possible to predict the heating curve for different ranges of pressure and temperature. The excellent agreement between the calculated and experimental heating curves supports the validity of our approach.     

微波场中乙烷及丙烷气体水合物的分解特性

研究了2.45GHz微波场中I型乙烷水合物及II型丙烷水合物的热激分解过程,基于晶体表面两步分解机制的动力学模型,结合传热传质分析了其分解特性.结果表明:水合物在微波场中的加热分解是一个与实际微波电磁场相互耦合的过程,微波体积加热的特点强化了水合物颗粒表层的传热传质过程,时间累积的热效应增大了水合物晶体破解速率;在120至540W入射功率下,乙烷、丙烷水合物气化速率分别达到0.109-0.400mol·min-·1L-1及0.090-0.222mol·min-1·L-1.在一定范围内增大微波功率可显著提高水合物分解速率,其中乙烷水合物一直处于功率主控区,丙烷水合物更早进入功率和分解动力机制共同控制区.     

Experimental investigation of methane hydrate decomposition by depressurizing in porous media with 3-Dimension device

In order to simulate the behavior of gas hydrate formation and decomposition, a 3-Dimension experimental device was built, consisting of a high-pressure reactor with an inner diameter of 300 mm, effective height of 100 mm, and operation pressure of 16 MPa. Eight thermal resistances were mounted in the porous media at different depthes and radiuses to detect the temperature distribution during the hydrate formation/decomposition. To collect the pressure, temperature, and flux of gas production data, the Monitor and Control Generated System (MCGS) was used. Using this device, the formation and decomposition behavior of methane hydrate in the 20～40 mesh natural sand with salinity of 3.35 wt% was examined. It was found that the front of formation or decomposition of hydrate can be judged by the temperature distribution. The amount of hydrate formation can also be evaluated by the temperature change. During the hydrate decomposition process, the temperature curves indicated that the hydrate in the top and bottom of reactor dissociated earlier than in the inner. The hydrate decomposition front gradually moved from porous media surface to inner and kept a shape of column form, with different moving speed at different surface position. The proper decomposition pressure was also determined.     

多孔介质中气体水合物降压分解的分形理论研究

通过将水合物的分解过程看作是无固态产物层生成的气固反应过程, 结合粒径缩小的收缩核反应模型和分形理论, 建立了多孔介质中水合物降压分解的分数维动力学模型, 提出了基于水合物分解实验数据计算多孔介质分形维数的方法. 分别利用前人的甲烷水合物和CO2水合物降压分解实验数据, 对上述分数维动力学模型进行了验证. 计算结果表明, 用提出的方法所计算得到的多孔介质分形维数与前人的测定结果基本符合; 对甲烷水合物和CO2水合物的降压分解过程, 提出的分数维动力学分解模型得出了和实验结果基本一致的预测, 绝对平均误差(AAD)小于10%.     

On the pressure-induced phase transformation in the structure II clathrate hydrate of tetrahydrofuran

A high-pressure phase of the clathrate hydrate of tetrahydrofuran was prepared by freezing a liquid phase of overall composition THF · 7 H₂O under a pressure of 3.0 kbar, or by pressurizing the solid structure II THF hydrate of 255K to 3.4 kbar. Unfortunately, the products recovered at 77K were always mixed phase materials as shown by X-ray powder diffraction. A number of diffraction lines could be indexed in terms of the cubic structure I hydrate with a slightly expanded lattice parameter, 12.08 Å, giving some support to Dyadin's idea that the high pressure phase transition involves a conversion of Structure II to Structure I. Other phases observed in the recovered product include Ice IX and amorphous materials. The reversion of the high pressure sample to the structure II hydrate was followed by differential scanning calorimetry. At ambient pressure, the high pressure sample converts slowly back to Structure II hydrate event at 77K.NRCC No. 35786.     

Accelerated nucleation of tetrahydrofuran(THF)hydrate in presence of ZIF-61

Clathrate hydrate can be used in energy gas storage and transportation,CO 2 capture and cool storage etc.However,these technologies are difficult to be used due to the low formation rate and long induction time of hydrate formation.In this paper,ZIF-61(zeolite imidazolate framework,ZIF) was first used in hydrate formation to stimulate hydrate nucleation.As an additive of clathrate hydrate,ZIF-61 promoted obviously the acceleration of tetrahydrofuran(THF) hydrate nucleation.It shortened the induction time of THF hydrate formation from 2-5 h to 0.3-1 h mainly due to the template function of ZIF-61 by which the nucleation of THF hydrate has been promoted.     

Influence of 3A molecular sieve on tetrahydrofuran (THF) hydrate formation

Visual observation of the THF hydrate formation process in the presence of a 3A molecular sieve has been made at normal atmosphere and below a temperature of zero by microscopy. The results indicate that a 3A molecular sieve can induce the nucleation of the THF hydrate and promote the THF hydrate growth. With the existence of a 3A molecular sieve, the growth rate of THF hydrate is between 0.01 and 0.05 μm/s. In comparison with the system without any 3A molecular sieve, the growth rate increases about 4 nm/s. After the THF hydrate grows into megacryst, the crystals will recombine and partially change under the same condition.