Experimental investigation of production behavior of methane hydrate under ethylene glycol injection in unconsolidated sediment

This article investigates the gas production behavior from methane hydrate (MH) in porous sediment by injecting ethylene glycol (EG) solution with the different concentrations and the different injection rates in an one-dimensional experimental apparatus. The results suggest that the gas production process can be divided into the four stages: (1) the initial injection, (2) the EG diluteness, (3) the hydrate dissociation, and (4) the remained gas output. Nevertheless, the water production rate keeps nearly constant during the whole production process. The production efficiency is affected by both the EG concentration and the EG injection rate, and it reaches a maximum with the EG concentration of 60 wt %.

Clathrate Dissociation Conditions for Methane + Tetra-n-butyl Ammonium Bromide (TBAB) + Water

Hydrate equilibrium data of the CH4 + tetra-n-butyl ammonium bromide (TBAB) + water have been measured by using the isothermal pressure search method for four components of TBAB aqueous solutions. The three-phase equilibrium lines obtained in the present study are shifted to the low-temperature or high-pressure side from that of the stoichiometric TBAB solution. Moreover, methane uptake into semi-clathrates is confirmed by a shift in the clathrate regions when methane is present. The experiments are carried out in the pressure range of (0.5 to 11) MPa and in the temperature range of (281.15 to 295.15) K.

Study on methane hydration process in a semi-continuous stirred tank reactor

The methane hydration process is investigated in a semi-continuous stirred tank reactor. Liquid temperatures and reaction rates without stirrer are compared with those occurring with stirrer, while at the same time better stirring conditions of the methane hydration process are given by the experiments. Some basic data of fluid mechanics, for example, stirring Reynolds number, Froucle number and stirrer power, are calculated during the methane hydration process, which can be applied to evaluate stirrer capacity and provide some basic data for a scaled up reactor. Based on experiment and calculations in this work, some conclusions are drawn. First, the stirrer has great influence on the methane hydration process. Batch stirring is helpful to improve the mass transfer and heat transfer performances of the methane hydration process. Second, induction time can be shortened effectively by use of the stirrer. Third, in this paper, the appropriate stirring velocity and stirring time were 320 rpm and 30 min, respectively, at 5.0 MPa, for which the storage capacity and reaction time were 159.1 V/V and 370 min, respectively. Under the condition of the on-flow state, the initial stirring Reynolds number of the fluid and the stirring power were 12,150 and 0.54 W, respectively. Fourth, some suggestions, for example, the use of another type of stirrer or some baffles, are proposed to accelerate the methane hydration process. Comparing with literature data, higher storage capacity and hydration rate are achieved in this work. Moreover, some fluid mechanics parameters are calculated, which can provide some references to engineering application.