Accelerated methane storage in clathrate hydrates using the natural tobacco

Abstract

The rapid formation rate and high storage capacity of clathrate hydrates are crucial for natural gas storage and transportation. In this study, a series of wet tobacco samples prepared by soaking different masses of tobacco shred/granules in water were used to store methane in the hydrate. Gas consumption experiments were conducted in an unstirred reactor to investigate the hydrate formation kinetics in the tobacco/water mixtures and their filtrates at 274.15 K and 8.0 MPa. The results demonstrated that the tobacco solutions with surfactivity played a promoting role in the hydrate formation. The wet loose biomass materials provided abundant nucleation sites for gas to solid hydrates. Compared to pure water, the tobacco–water mixtures significantly shorten the induction time of nucleation and accelerate hydrate growth. The amount of methane stored in tobacco granule systems ranged from 112.3 to 160.3 cm3 cm−3, and the storage rates reached 2.06–5.58 cm3 cm−3·min−1. The wet tobacco shreds exhibited higher gas uptakes (132.6–171.6 cm3 cm−3) than the tobacco granule systems and tobacco shreds filtrates at the same liquid–solid ratio. The use of green wet tobacco samples to enhance of hydration should be helpful for the extension of hydrate-based technology.