Effects of temperature gradient on methane hydrate formation and dissociation processes and sediment heat transfer characteristics

Mengru Tian, Yongchen Song, Jia-nan Zheng, Guangjun Gong and Mingjun Yang

Energy, 2022, vol. 261, issue PA

Abstract: Commercial exploitation of methane hydrate has become an essential potential to issue global energy shortage. Yet, the temperature gradient of hydrate sediments is always ignored, and laboratory-scale methane hydrate formation and dissociation investigations with temperature gradient are rarely conducted. In this study, a 240 mm height reactor was used to simulate hydrate sediment with the temperature gradient of approximately 0.026 °C/mm in height. Methane hydrates were first formed under constant-volume condition with three initial pressures of 6, 8 and 10 MPa. The presence of temperature gradient caused the difference in the height of hydrate-bearing region, and the height expanded with formation pressure. Then, the hydrates were dissociated by depressurization to 2.5 MPa in three production rates of 0.1, 2.3 and 60 ln/min. The temperature changes of hydrate-bearing and non-hydrate areas were obviously distinguished, affected by hydrate dissociation. Due to the limited heat transfer, an isothermal period at approximately −1 °C, irrelevant to the temperature gradient, was observed during the dissociation process at 2.5 MPa. After comparing with the natural warming trajectory, it is confirmed that the temperature response of hydrate-bearing sediments agrees with thermodynamic relationship, rather than conventional heat transfer. These results are significant for the efficiency improvement of actual methane hydrate exploitation.

Keywords: natural Gas hydrate; Temperature gradient; Heat transfer; Thermodynamic (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (5)

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eee:energy:v:261:y:2022:i:pa:s0360544222021090

DOI: 10.1016/j.energy.2022.125220

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