An experimental study of crystallization and crystal growth of methane hydrates from melting ice

An experiment with well defined gas-water interfacial surface area was developed to study the crystallization and crystal growth of methane hydrates. Measurable formation rates were observed only when melting ice was involved. No hydrates nucleated from liquid water or from non-melting ice. It is concluded that melting ice, which like hydrate water is hydrogen-bonded, provides a template for hydrate nucleation as well as providing a heat sink for absorbing the heat of formation during hydrate growth. The experiment was conducted in the absence of mixing so that hydrate crystals grew under quiescent conditions.Dedicated to Dr D. W. Davidson in honor of his great contributions to the sciences of inclusion phenomena.     

Dissociation behavior of C2H6 hydrate at temperatures below the ice point: melting to liquid water followed by ice nucleation

The dissociation of C(2)H(6) hydrate particles by slow depressurization at temperatures slightly below the ice melting point was studied using optical microscopy and Raman spectroscopy. Visual observations and Raman measurements revealed that ethane hydrates can be present as a metastable state at pressures lower than the dissociation pressures of the three components: ice, hydrate, and free gas. However, they decompose into liquid water and gas phases once the system pressure drops to the equilibrium boundary for supercooled water, hydrate, and free gas. Structural analyses of obtained Raman spectra indicate that structures of the metastable hydrates and liquid water from the hydrate decay are fundamentally identical to those of the stable hydrates and supercooled water without experience of the hydration. These results imply a considerably high energy barrier for the direct hydrate-to-ice transition. Water solidification, probably induced by dynamic nucleation, was also observed during melting.     

Intensification of methane and hydrogen storage in clathrate hydrate and future prospect

Gas hydrate is a new technology for energy gas (methane/hydrogen) storage due to its large capacity of gas storage and safe. But industrial application of hydrate storage process was hindered by some problems. For methane, the main problems are low formation rate and storage capacity, which can be solved by strengthening mass and heat transfer, such as adding additives, stirring, bubbling, etc. One kind of additives can change the equilibrium curve to reduce the formation pressure of methane hydrate, and the other kind of additives is surfactant, which can form micelle with water and increase the interface of water-gas. Dry water has the similar effects on the methane hydrate as surfactant. Additionally, stirring, bubbling, and spraying can increase formation rate and storage capacity due to mass transfer strengthened. Inserting internal or external heat exchange also can improve formation rate because of good heat transfer. For hydrogen, the main difficulties are very high pressure for hydrate formed. Tetrahydrofuran (THF), tetrabutylammonium bromide (TBAB) and tetrabutylammonium fluoride (TBAF) have been proved to be able to decrease the hydrogen hydrate formation pressure significantly.     

Dissociation behavior of “dry water” C_3H_8 hydrate below ice point:Effect of phase state of unreacted residual water on a mechanism of gas hydrates dissociation

The results on a dissociation behavior of propane hydrates prepared from "dry water" and contained unreacted residual water in the form of ice inclusions or supercooled liquid water(water solution of gas) were presented for temperatures below 273 K.The temperature ramping or pressure release method was used for the dissociation of propane hydrate samples.It was found that the mechanism of gas hydrate dissociation at temperatures below 273 K depended on the phase state of unreacted water in the hydrate sample.Gas hydrates dissociated into ice and gas if the ice inclusions were in the hydrate sample.The samples of propane hydrates with inclusions of unreacted supercooled water only(without ice inclusions) dissociated into supercooled water and gas below the pressure of the supercooled water-hydrate-gas metastable equilibrium.     

Effect of the Degree of Oil Biodegradation on the Crystallization of Methane Hydrate and Ice in Water-Oil Emulsions

To study the influence exerted by oxidized oil components on the nucleation and growth of gas hydrates the nucleation of methane hydrate and ice in 50 wt % emulsions of oil in native oil and two samples of the same oil subjected to biodegradation for 30 and 60 days (samples N, V30, and V60, respectively) were examined. In the course of measurements, the samples were cooled to–15°C at a constant rate of 0.14 deg min^–1 and then heated to the initial temperature. The initial methane pressure in the system was 15 MPa at 20°C. In the process, the temperatures were recorded at which heat effects corresponding to the formation of hydrate/ice and the melting of these. In the case of emulsion N, no exothermic effects were manifested in the cooling stage. In the heating stage, the endothermic effects of ice melting were found in half of the samples. No effects corresponding to the decomposition of the hydrate were observed. In experiment with V30 samples, the formation of the hydrate and ice was manifested as strong exothermic effects. Ice was formed in all the experiments, and the hydrate, only in 21% of the samples. Finally, in experiments with V60, ice and the hydrate were formed in 54 and 13% of cases, respectively. Their formation was manifested as weak exothermic effects in the cooling stage. Thus, it was demonstrated that the biodegradation level of oil samples affects the nucleation of methane hydrate and ice in emulsions formed on the basis of these samples.

     

Intensification of methane and hydrogen storage inclathrate hydrate and future prospect

Gas hydrate is a new technology for energy gas(methane/hydrogen)storage due to its large capacity of gas storage and safe.But industrial application of hydrate storage process was hindered by someproblems.For methane,the main problems are low formation rateand storage capacity,which can be solved by strengthening mass andheat transfer,such as adding additives,stirring,bubbling,etc.Onekind of additives can change the equilibrium curve to reduce the formation pressure of methane hydrate,and the other kind of additivesis surfactant,which can form micelle with water and increase the interface of water-gas.Dry water has the similar effects on the methanehydrate as surfactant.Additionally,stirring,bubbling,and sprayingcan increase formation rate and storage capacity due to mass transferstrengthened.Inserting internal or external heat exchange also canimprove formation rate because of good heat transfer.For hydrogen,the main difficulties are very high pressure for hydrate formed.Tetrahydrofuran(THF),tetrabutylammonium bromide(TBAB) andtetrabutylammonium fluoride(TBAF) have been proved to be able todecrease the hydrogen hydrate formation pressure significantly.     

Formation and decomposition of gas hydrates of natural gas components

Based on our theoretical and experimental work carried out during the last decade, our understanding of the thermodynamics and the kinetics of formation and decomposition of gas hydrates is presented. Hydrate formation is modelled as a crystallization process where two distinct processes (nucleation and growth) are involved. Prior to the nucleation the concentration of the gas in the liquid water exceeds that corresponding to the vapor-liquid equilibrium. This supersaturation is attributed to the extensive structural orientation in the liquid water and is necessary for the phase change to occur. The growth of the hydrate nuclei or the decomposition of a hydrate particle are modelled as two-step procedures. Only one adjustable parameter for each hydrate forming gas is required for the intrinsic rate of formation or decomposition. In addition the inhibiting effects of electrolytes or methanol on hydrate formation are discussed and experimental data on methane gas hydrate formation in the presence of aqueous solutions of 3% NaCl and 3% NaCl + 3% KCI, are presented along with the predicted values. Finally, the relevence of the ideas to the technological implications of gas hydrates as well as areas where future research is needed are discussed.Dedicated to Dr D. W. Davidson in honor of his great contributions to the sciences of inclusion phenomena.     

Experimental study and modeling of the kinetics of refrigerant hydrate formation

The purpose of this study was to identify compatible hydrate forming-refrigerants suitable for air-conditioning systems. The main challenge in designing an air conditioning system which utilises refrigerant hydrates as a media for storage of cold energy is the rate of formation and dissociation of the refrigerant hydrates. Hence, in this experimental study the kinetics of hydrate formation of three refrigerant blends, viz. R407C, R410A and R507C have been investigated. The induction time for hydrate formation, apparent rate constant of the hydrate reaction, water to hydrate conversion during hydrate growth, storage capacity, and the rate of hydrate formation of these refrigerants at various pressures and temperatures have been obtained using a kinetic model. The effect of sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) on the hydrate nucleation rate was also investigated.     

Spectroscopic methods in gas hydrate research

Gas hydrates are crystalline structures comprising a guest molecule surrounded by a water cage, and are particularly relevant due to their natural occurrence in the deep sea and in permafrost areas. Low molecular weight molecules such as methane and carbon dioxide can be sequestered into that cage at suitable temperatures and pressures, facilitating the transition to the solid phase. While the composition and structure of gas hydrates appear to be well understood, their formation and dissociation mechanisms, along with the dynamics and kinetics associated with those processes, remain ambiguous. In order to take advantage of gas hydrates as an energy resource (e.g., methane hydrate), as a sequestration matrix in (for example) CO₂ storage, or for chemical energy conservation/storage, a more detailed molecular level understanding of their formation and dissociation processes, as well as the chemical, physical, and biological parameters that affect these processes, is required. Spectroscopic techniques appear to be most suitable for analyzing the structures of gas hydrates (sometimes in situ), thus providing access to such information across the electromagnetic spectrum. A variety of spectroscopic methods are currently used in gas hydrate research to determine the composition, structure, cage occupancy, guest molecule position, and binding/formation/dissociation mechanisms of the hydrate. To date, the most commonly applied techniques are Raman spectroscopy and solid-state nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy. Diffraction methods such as neutron and X-ray diffraction are used to determine gas hydrate structures, and to study lattice expansions. Furthermore, UV-vis spectroscopic techniques and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) have assisted in structural studies of gas hydrates. Most recently, waveguide-coupled mid-infrared spectroscopy in the 3–20 μm spectral range has demonstrated its value for in situ studies on the formation and dissociation of gas hydrates. This comprehensive review summarizes the importance of spectroscopic analytical techniques to our understanding of the structure and dynamics of gas hydrate systems, and highlights selected examples that illustrate the utility of these individual methods.     

Tuning the Composition of Guest Molecules in Clathrate Hydrates: NMR Identification and Its Significance to Gas Storage

Gas hydrates represent an attractive way of storing large quantities of gas such as methane and carbon dioxide, although to date there has been little effort to optimize the storage capacity and to understand the trade‐offs between storage conditions and storage capacity. In this work, we present estimates for gas storage based on the ideal structures, and show how these must be modified given the little data available on hydrate composition. We then examine the hypothesis based on solid‐solution theory for clathrate hydrates as to how storage capacity may be improved for structure II hydrates, and test the hypothesis for a structure II hydrate of THF and methane, paying special attention to the synthetic approach used. Phase equilibrium data are used to map the region of stability of the double hydrate in P–T space as a function of the concentration of THF. In situ high‐pressure NMR experiments were used to measure the kinetics of reaction between frozen THF solutions and methane gas, and ¹³C MAS NMR experiments were used to measure the distribution of the guests over the cage sites. As known from previous work, at high concentrations of THF, methane only occupies the small cages in structure II hydrate, and in accordance with the hypothesis posed, we confirm that methane can be introduced into the large cage of structure II hydrate by lowering the concentration of THF to below 1.0 mol %. We note that in some preparations the cage occupancies appear to fluctuate with time and are not necessarily homogeneous over the sample. Although the tuning mechanism is generally valid, the composition and homogeneity of the product vary with the details of the synthetic procedure. The best results, those obtained from the gas–liquid reaction, are in good agreement with thermodynamic predictions; those obtained for the gas–solid reaction do not agree nearly as well.     

Investigation on Gas Storage in Methane Hydrate

The effect of additives (anionic surfactant sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS), nonionic surfactantalkyl polysaccharide glycoside (APG), and liquid hydrocarbon cyclopentane (CP)) on hydrate inductiontime and formation rate, and storage capacity was studied in this work. Micelle surfactant solutions werefound to reduce hydrate induction time, increase methane hydrate formation rate and improve methanestorage capacity in hydrates. In the presence of surfactant, hydrate could form quickly in a quiescentsystem and the energy costs of hydrate formation were reduced. The critical micelle concentrations of SDS and APG water solutions were found to be 300x 10-6 and 500x 10-6 for methane hydrate formation systemrespectively. The effect of anionic surfactant (SDS) on methane storage in hydrates is more pronounced compared to a nonionic surfactant (APG). CP also reduced hydrate induction time and improved hydrateformation rate, but could not improve methane storage in hydrates.     

Modulated DSC for gas hydrates analysis

Modulated DSC has been applied to the study of methane, ethane and propane hydrates at different hydrate and ice concentrations. The reversing component of the TMDSC curves, makes it possible to characterize such hydrates. Methane and ethane hydrates show the melting-decomposition peak at a temperatures higher than the ice contained in the sample, while propane hydrate melts and decomposes at lower temperature than the ice present in the sample. The hydrate peaks tend to disappear if the hydrate is stored at atmospheric pressure. Guest size and cavity occupation fix the heat of dissociation and stability of the hydrates, as confirmed by parallel tests on tetrahydrofurane hydrates.     

Molecular simulation of gas hydrate nanoclusters in water shell: Structure and phase transitions

Gas hydrate nanoclusters surrounded by water shells are studied by the molecular dynamic method. Hydrates of methane (sI structures) and krypton (sII structures), as well an ice nanocluster in a supercooled water shell, are considered. The main attention was focused on studying the local structure and phase transitions. Variations in local partial densities with an increase in temperature are monitored. Melting points of nanosized samples of gas hydrates are determined using caloric curves. Additional information on the behavior of the considered systems is obtained from the temperature dependences of diffusion coefficients and the Lindemann criterion. Two-phase transitions are revealed for gas hydrate nanoclusters. The first phase transition at 210 K can be assigned to the melting of the ice shell. The second transition at 230–235 K is identified as the phase transition in the hydrate core. The melting of ice cluster is observed at 215 K, which corresponds to the melting point of bulk crystal upon the use of the SPC/E water model.     

二元贮冷水合盐熔解热的差示扫描量热法研究

用差示扫描量热法（differential scanning calorimetry)对二元贮冷水合盐的相变温度与熔解热进行了研究，实验结果对认识多元贮冷水合盐的相变过程的相变机理及选配贮冷水合盐材料，具有重要意义。     

Tuning methane content in gas hydrates via thermodynamic modeling and molecular dynamics simulation

Storage and transportation of natural gas as gas hydrate (“gas-to-solids technology”) is a promising alternative to the established liquefied natural gas (LNG) or compressed natural gas (CNG) technologies. Gas hydrates offer a relatively high gas storage capacity and mild temperature and pressure conditions for formation. Simulations based on the van der Waals–Platteeuw model and molecular dynamics (MD) are employed in this study to relate the methane gas content/occupancy in different hydrate systems with the hydrate stability conditions including temperature, pressure, and secondary clathrate stabilizing guests. Methane is chosen as a model system for natural gas. It was found that the addition of about 1% propane suffices to increase the structure II (sII) methane hydrate stability without excessively compromising methane storage capacity in hydrate. When tetrahydrofuran (THF) is used as the stabilizing agent in sII hydrate at concentration between 1% and 3%, a reasonably high methane content in hydrate can be maintained (∼85–100, v/v) without dealing with pressures more than 5 MPa and close to room temperature.     

Effects of magnetic fields on HCFC-141b refrigerant gas hydrate formation

Gas hydrates are crystalline compounds formed (usually above 0℃) by water reacting with some gases or volatile liquids (hydrate former). Guest molecules, such as gas or volatile liquid molecules, are enclosed firmly inside the host cavities and act with water molecules in weak van der Waals force. Gas hydrate usually includes natural gas hydrate, refrigerant gas hydrate and CO2 gas hydrate. Refrigerant hydrates can be formed above 0℃, and their crystallization is similar to the ordinary ice…     

High-pressure gas hydrates

It has long been known that crystalline hydrates are formed by many simple gases that do not interact strongly with water, and in most cases the gas molecules or atoms occupy 'cages' formed by a framework of water molecules. The majority of these gas hydrates adopt one of two cubic cage structures and are called clathrate hydrates. Notable exceptions are hydrogen and helium which form 'exotic' hydrates with structures based on ice structures, rather than clathrate hydrates, even at low pressures. Clathrate hydrates have been extensively studied because they occur widely in nature, have important industrial applications, and provide insight into water-guest hydrophobic interactions. Until recently, the expectation-based on calculations-had been that all clathrate hydrates were dissociated into ice and gas by the application of pressures of 1 GPa or so. However, over the past five years, studies have shown that this view is incorrect. Instead, all the systems so far studied undergo structural rearrangement to other, new types of hydrate structure that remain stable to much higher pressures than had been thought possible. In this paper we review work on gas hydrates at pressures above 0.5 GPa, identify common trends in transformations and structures, and note areas of uncertainty where further work is needed.     

Influence of Gas Supply Changes on the Formation Process of Complex Mixed Gas Hydrates

Natural gas hydrate occurrences contain predominantly methane; however, there are increasing reports of complex mixed gas hydrates and coexisting hydrate phases. Changes in the feed gas composition due to the preferred incorporation of certain components into the hydrate phase and an inadequate gas supply is often assumed to be the cause of coexisting hydrate phases. This could also be the case for the gas hydrate system in Qilian Mountain permafrost (QMP), which is mainly controlled by pores and fractures with complex gas compositions. This study is dedicated to the experimental investigations on the formation process of mixed gas hydrates based on the reservoir conditions in QMP. Hydrates were synthesized from water and a gas mixture under different gas supply conditions to study the effects on the hydrate formation process. In situ Raman spectroscopic measurements and microscopic observations were applied to record changes in both gas and hydrate phase over the whole formation process. The results demonstrated the effects of gas flow on the composition of the resulting hydrate phase, indicating a competitive enclathration of guest molecules into the hydrate lattice depending on their properties. Another observation was that despite significant changes in the gas composition, no coexisting hydrate phases were formed.     

Influence of sodium chloride on the melting of ice and crystallization and dissociation of CCl3F hydrate in water in oil emulsion

Trichlorofluoromethane (CCl₃F) and water form clathrate hydrate which melts at 8.5 °C under atmospheric pressure. By DSC and X rays analysis we could distinguish between hydrate and ice formed in emulsion containing NaCl and show that quantity of hydrate formed and its dissociation temperature are dependent on solution concentration. The equilibrium curve hydrate-NaCl solution is displaced towards higher temperatures with respect to corresponding ice curve. Consequently solid–liquid equilibrium can not be established in presence of both solids. Growth of hydrate crystals at the expense of ice was evidenced. Role of salt in hydrate growth and ice melting is examined.     

Characterisation of gas hydrates formation using a new high pressure Micro-DSC

Gas hydrates are solid structures formed from water and gas under low temperature and high pressure conditions. Differential scanning calorimeter, operating under high pressure, is a very useful technique for the determination of the thermodynamic properties and the kinetics of gas hydrate formation. Specific gas tight controlled pressure vessels have to be used to obtain the hydrate formation in complex fluids. Based on the MicroDSC technology, a new High Pressure MicroDSC with a vessel (0.7 cm³) operating up to 400 bars between -45 and 120°C is introduced for this type of research. An example of the use of the HP MicroDSC is given with the formation of gas hydrates in drilling muds. With the increasing number of deep offshore drilling operations, operators and service companies have to solve more and more complex technical challenges. Extreme conditions encountered at these depths require an adaptation of the drilling muds. The range of temperature (down to -1°C) and pressure (up to 400 bars) are favorable conditions to the formation of hydrates. HP MicroDSC is used to determine the thermodynamic properties and kinetics of hydrate formation in mud formulations, particularly in the presence of large amounts of minerals. The technique allows the detection of phase transitions vs. time, temperature and pressure. Using such a technique, dangerous areas of hydrate formation in drilling muds formulations (water-base and oil-base) can be predicted. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.