CO2 and CH4 mole fraction measurements during hydrate growth in a semi-batch stirred tank reactor and its significance to kinetic modeling

A new experimental technique has been developed to measure the mole fraction of the gas hydrate former in the bulk liquid phase, at the onset of hydrate growth and thereafter, in a semi-batch stirred tank reactor. The mole fraction of carbon dioxide and methane in the bulk liquid phase was obtained for the first 11 and 13 min of the growth stage, for the carbon dioxide–water and methane–water systems respectively. Experiments were conducted at temperatures ranging from 275.3 K to 281.4 K and at pressures ranging from 2017 kPa to 4000 kPa for the carbon dioxide–water system, while temperatures ranging from 275.1 K to 279.1 K and pressures ranging from 3858 kPa to 6992 kPa were investigated for the methane–water system. The mole fraction of carbon dioxide in the bulk liquid phase was found to be constant during the growth period, varying on average by 0.6% and 0.3% at 275.4 K and 279.5 K. Similarly, the mole fraction of methane in the bulk liquid phase was found to remain constant during the growth stage, varying on average by 2.0%, 0.8% and 0.2% at 275.1 K, 277.1 K and 279.1 K respectively. The mole fraction of the gas hydrate former in the bulk liquid phase was also found to increase with pressure and decrease with temperature, while remaining greater than its hydrate-liquid water equilibrium value. As a result, an alternate formulation of a hydrate growth model is proposed.