Abstract
Natural gas hydrate (NGH) has become the most potential emerging green energy known in the 21st century due to its characteristics of wide distribution, abundant reserves and clean combustion. This study designs an axial annulus in situ hydrocyclone desander (AAIHD) based on drilling instruments in order to resolve the serious problem of sand production during solid fluidization of NGH. The effect of the inlet flow rate and separation zone length on the sand removal efficiency of the AAIHD is tested through experimental research. The results indicate that AAIHD has a higher separation performance when the separation zone length is L/D=12.4 and the inlet flow rate is in the range of 10 m3/h to 25 m3/h, and the maximum separation efficiency reaches 77.4%. The purpose of this study is to achieve in-situ sand removal and the backfilling of sand slurry in addition to facilitate the advancement of solid fluidized exploration technologies.
Highlights
Natural gas hydrate (NGH) is an icy, clathrate compound formed by water and natural gas in a high-pressure and low-temperature environment
NGH is known for its wide distribution, abundant reserves and clean combustion [1]
The theory of solid fluidization mining was first proposed by Zhou in 2014 for shallow non-diagenetic NGH reservoirs in deep sea environment [5]
Summary
Natural gas hydrate (NGH) is an icy, clathrate compound formed by water and natural gas in a high-pressure and low-temperature environment. In the exploitation of NGH in shallow layers of the deep sea, these methods have many problems. The theory of solid fluidization mining was first proposed by Zhou in 2014 for shallow non-diagenetic NGH reservoirs in deep sea environment [5]. According to the results of solid fluidization test production in 2017, it is necessary to separate and backfill a large amount of silty sand in the produced fluid. The purpose of this research is to test the efficiency of a novel type hydrocyclone for in-situ sand removal and assess the feasibility of applying this series of hydrocyclones for sand pretreatment during solid fluidization of NGH in shallow layers of the deep sea. This study does not involve the separation of hydrates and may be conducted in subsequent studies
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