Improving the efficiency of storage of natural and artificial methane hydrates

Abstract

Methane gas hydrate is the largest hydrocarbon reservoir of natural low-carbon energy systems. Methane hydrates are a promising environmentally friendly energy source. Currently, there is a great many of experimental data on the dissociation of natural and artificial methane hydrate at negative temperatures. However, the physical mechanisms of dissociation and their description remain unclear even today, which hinders the development of these technologies. Dissociation of methane hydrates in a wide temperature range, including the self-preservation region, is studied experimentally. In this paper, experimental and theoretical studies into the natural and artificial methane hydrate dissociation are conducted. The natural gas hydrate exhibits a lower dissociation rate compared to the artificial methane hydrate. Since it is quite difficult to influence the strength of the ice crust, it is advisable to produce methane hydrate at large sphere diameters in order to reduce the dissociation rate (in the annealing temperature window). The results obtained may be useful for improving the technology of storage and transportation of natural and artificial methane hydrate.