Effect of Methane Gas on Acoustic Characteristics of Hydrate-Bearing Sediment–Model Analysis and Experimental Verification

Gas leakage is an important consideration in natural systems that experience gas hydrate accumulation.A number of velocity models have been created to study hydrate-bearing sediments,including the BGTL theory,the weighted equation,the Wood equation,the K-T equation,and the effective medium theory.In previous work,we regarded water as the pore fluid,which meant its density and bulk modulus values were those of water.This approach ignores the presence of gas,which results in a biased calculation of the pore fluid's bulk modulus and density.To take into account the effect of gas on the elastic wave velocity,it is necessary to recalculate the bulk modulus and density of an equivalent medium.Thus,a high-pressure reactor device for simulating leakage systems was developed to establish the relationship between wave velocity and hydrate saturation in methane-flux mode.A comparison of the values calculated by the velocity model with the experimental data obtained in this study indicates that the effective medium theory(EMT,which considers gas effects)is more applicable than other models.For hydrate saturations of 10%–30%,the result ranges between EMT-B(homogenous gas distribution)and EMT-B(patchy gas distribution).For hydrate saturations of 30%–60%,the results are similar to those of the EMT-B(homogenous gas distribution)mode,whereas hydrate saturations of 60%–70%yield results similar to those of the EMT-A mode.For hydrate saturations greater than 80%,the experimental results are similar to those of the EMT-B mode.These results have significance for hydrate exploitation in the South China Sea.

An Experimental Simulation of Load-Leveling Through Adsorption for Natural Gas Pipeline System

A load-leveling method through adsorption was presented to adjust the supply quantity according to the consumption rate of natural gas with time. An experimental simulation set up was designed and used to test the load-leveling function for a real pipeline system. A storage tank filled with activated carbon together with a filter constitutes the major part of the load-leveling facility. Pressure and temperature of the system, as well as the real gas output of the storage tank were recorded. It is proven that load-leveling by adsorption is technically feasible even for low pipeline pressure of natural gas supply system.

Experimental and Numerical Study on the Gas Explosion in Urban Regulator Station

Regulator station is an important part in the urban gas transmission and distribution system.Once gas explosion occurs,the real explosion process and consequences of methane gas explosion in the regulator station were not revealed systematically.In this study,a full-scale experiment was carried out to simulate the regulator station explosion process,and some numerical simulations with a commercial CFD software called FLACS were conducted to analyze the effect of ignition and vent conditions on the blast overpressure and flame propagation.The experimental results demonstrated that the peak overpressure increased as the distance from the vent increased within a certain distance.And the maximum overpressure appeared 3 m away from the door,which was about 36.6 kPa.It was found that the pressure-time rising curves obtained from the simulation are basically the same as the ones from the experiment,however,the time of reaching the peak pressure was much shorter.The numerical simulation results show that the peak overpressures show an increase trend as the ignition height decreased and the vent relief pressure increased.It indicates that the damage and peak overpressure of gas explosion could be well predicted by FLACS in different styles of regulator station.In addition,the results help us to understand the internal mechanism and development process of gas explosion better.It also offers technical support for the safety protection of the urban regulator station.

An Experimental Study on the Pressure Distribution in Horizontal Gas Wells

Laboratory experiments have been carried out to study the fluid flow in the wellbore of a horizontal gas well during the production process.The related pressure distribution has been determined considering different cases(different inflow media,different perforation opening methods and different liquid holdup).It has been found that the larger the fluid flow rate,the greater the pressure changes in the wellbore under the same hole opening mode.The uniformity of the perforation opening method was also an important factor affecting the magnitude of the wellbore pressure change.The liquid holdup also affected the pressure distribution,especially when the gas volumetric flow rate exceeded 200 m3/h.Comparison of the outcomes of the present experimental study with the predictions of a theoretical model available in the literature has provided a relative error smaller than 20%.

Experimental Study on the Relationship Between Gas Hydrate Saturation and Water Permeability in Sediments

A new experimental equipment is developed to study the relationship between gas hydrate saturation and water permeability in sediments.Water with dissolved methane is injected circularly into the sediments to form gas hydrate,and the gas hydrate saturation in sediment pores is measured by Time Domain Reflectometry(TDR).The experimental result shows that water permeability is barely influenced by gas hydrate when the saturation is below 30%.When the gas hydrate saturation in sediments pores is larger than 30%,water permeability

Nepheloid layer generation by gas eruption:unexpected experimental results

Knowledge of nepheloid layers is important to improve the understanding of physical,geological,and sedimentary processes from continental shelf to abyssal environments.We had not tried to study the nepheloid layers in a hydrate-associated tank until unexpected results occurred.Tank experimental results show that gas eruptions triggered intermediate nepheloid layers.Thus,we proposed a new mechanism of intermediate nepheloid layer generation by eruptions.The intermediate nepheloid layers were generated in uniform-density fluid,which indicated that stratified fluid is not a necessary condition for intermediate nepheloid layers.Sufficient space for advection and an oblique slope for detachment are the key ingredients for intermediate nepheloid layer generation by eruptions.Our experiments also offer a new experimental evidence for bottom nepheloid layer generation by earthquakes.Given the scale effects of laboratory experiment,it is important to determine whether submarine volcanic eruption or hydrate-associated venting causes intermediate nepheloid layer in the nature.

The Simulation Experiment of Ethanol Separation from Fermentation Broth by Gas Stripping

The feasibility of ethanol separation from ethanol-water solution saturated with glucose by gas strippingis showil theoretically and experimentally. The effects of glucose on the saturated vapor pressure of ethanol, and thatof operating temperature and gas stripping flow rates, K/G, on Stripping result are discussed.

Experimental test and theoretical calculation of the fracture height limit of gas pipe flow to Darcy flow

Low-speed flow experiments in which ultra-fine copper tubes are used to simulate micro-fractures in carbonate strata are conducted to analyze the variations of gas flow state in fractures of different fracture heights,determine flow state transition limit and transition interval,and establish the calculation method of flow state transition limit.The results show that the ideal Hagen-Poiseuille flow is the main form of gas flow in large fractures.Due to the decrease of fracture height,the gas flow in the fracture changes from Hagen-Poiseuille flow with ideal smooth seam surface to non-Hagen-Poiseuille flow,and the critical point of the transition is the boundary of flow state transition.After the fracture height continues to decrease to a certain extent below the boundary of the flow state transition fracture height,the form of gas flow gradually changes to the ideal Darcy flow,thus the transition interval of the gas flow state in the closing process of fracture can be determined.Based on the three-dimensional microconvex body scanning of the fracture surface,the material properties of fracture and properties of fluid in the fracture,a method for calculating the boundary of flow state transition is established.The experimental test and theoretical calculation show that the limit of the fracture height for the transition from pipe flow to Darcy flow is about twice the sum of the maximum height of the microconvex bodies on the upper and lower sides of the fracture.

Effects of CH_(4)/CO_(2) multi-component gas on components and properties of tight oil during CO_(2) utilization and storage: Physical experiment and composition numerical simulation

An essential technology of carbon capture, utilization and storage-enhanced oil recovery (CCUS-EOR) for tight oil reservoirs is CO_(2) huff-puff followed by associated produced gas reinjection. In this paper, the effects of multi-component gas on the properties and components of tight oil are studied. First, the core displacement experiments using the CH_(4)/CO_(2) multi-component gas are conducted to determine the oil displacement efficiency under different CO_(2) and CH_(4) ratios. Then, a viscometer and a liquid density balance are used to investigate the change characteristics of oil viscosity and density after multi-component gas displacement with different CO_(2) and CH_(4) ratios. In addition, a laboratory scale numerical model is established to validate the experimental results. Finally, a composition model of multi-stage fractured horizontal well in tight oil reservoir considering nano-confinement effects is established to investigate the effects of multi-component gas on the components of produced dead oil and formation crude oil. The experimental results show that the oil displacement efficiency of multi-component gas displacement is greater than that of single-component gas displacement. The CH_(4) decreases the viscosity and density of light oil, while CO_(2) decreases the viscosity but increases the density. And the numerical simulation results show that CO_(2) extracts more heavy components from the liquid phase into the vapor phase, while CH_(4) extracts more light components from the liquid phase into the vapor phase during cyclic gas injection. The multi-component gas can extract both the light components and the heavy components from oil, and the balanced production of each component can be achieved by using multi-component gas huff-puff.

Mechanisms of carbon isotopic fractionation in the process of natural gas generation: Geochemical evidence from thermal simulation experiment

Low maturity coal samples were taken from the Ordos Basin to conduct gold tube thermal simulation experiment in a closed system,and the characteristics of the products were analyzed to find out the fractionation mechanism of carbon isotopes and the causes of abnormal carbon isotopic compositions of natural gas.At the heating rates of 2℃/h(slow)and 20℃/h(rapid),the low maturity coal samples of the Ordos Basin had the maximum yields of alkane gas of 302.74 mL/g and 230.16 mL/g,theδ13C1 ranges of-34.8‰to-23.6‰and-35.5‰to-24.0‰;δ13C2 ranges of-28.0‰to-9.0‰and-28.9‰to-8.3‰;andδ13C3 ranges of-25.8‰to-14.7‰and-26.4‰to-13.2‰,respectively.Alkane gas in the thermal simulation products of rapid temperature rise process showed obvious partial reversal of carbon isotope series at 550℃,and at other temperatures showed positive carbon isotope series.In the two heating processes,theδ13C1 turned lighter first and then heavier,and the non-monotonic variation of theδ13C1 values is because the early CH4 is from different parent materials resulted from heterogeneity of organic matter or the carbon isotope fractionation formed by activation energy difference of early enriched 12CH4 and late enriched 13CH4.The reversal of carbon isotope values of heavy hydrocarbon gas can occur not only in high to over mature shale gas(oil-type gas),but also in coal-derived gas.Through thermal simulation experiment of toluene,it is confirmed that the carbon isotope value of heavy hydrocarbon gas can be reversed and inversed at high to over mature stage.The isotope fractionation effect caused by demethylation and methyl linkage of aromatic hydrocarbons may be an important reason for carbon isotope inversion and reversal of alkane gas at the high to over mature stage.

A continuous and high-efficiency process to separate coal bed methane with porous ZIF-8 slurry:Experimental study and mathematical modelling

Coal bed methane has been considered as an important energy resource.One major difficulty of purifying coal bed methane comes from the similar physical properties of CH_4 and N_2.The ZIF-8/water-glycol slurry was used as a medium to separate coal bed methane by fluidifying the solid adsorbent material.The sorption equilibrium experiment of binary mixture(CH_4/N_2)and slurry was conducted.The selectivity of CH_4 to N_2 is within the range of 2-6,which proved the feasibility of the slurry separation method.The modified Langmuir equation was used to describe the gas-slurry phase equilibrium behavior,and the calculated results were in good agreement with the experimental data.A continuous absorption-adsorption and desorption process on the separation of CH_4/N_2 in slurry is proposed and its mathematical model is also developed.Sensitivity analysis is conducted to determine the operation conditions and the energy performance of the proposed process was also evaluated.Feed gas contains 30 mol%of methane and the methane concentration in product gas is 95.46 mol%with the methane recovery ratio of 90.74%.The total energy consumption for per unit volume of product gas is determined as 1.846 kWh Nm^(-3).Experimental results and process simulation provide basic data for the design and operation of pilot and industrial plant.

An experimental study on temperature increasing mechanism of satellitic thermo-infrared

Mixed gases (CO 2 and CH 4 etc .) in different ratio under the action of transient electric field may cause temperature to increase about 6℃, while under that of solar irradiation may lead temperature to rise around 3℃. The temperature increasing mechanism of satellitic thermo infrared of lower air is explained here based on an experimental study: thermo infrared temperature increasing of lower atmosphere may be caused by paroxysmal releasing of crustal gas and sudden changing of lower atmosphere electrostatic field. Therefore, appearance of the anomaly of thermo infrared temperature increasing prior to a moderate strong earthquake requires the concurrence of gas paroxysmal releasing and electrostatic field sudden changing at the same time.

Experimental research on methane control of mining upper protective layers

In order to solve coal and gas outbursts during mining coal seam,studying on related problems were carried out. According to the theories of mining upper protective layer,proper mining plan were designed and performed through field experiment. By means of examining several parameters obtained from the field experiment,the protective effects were evaluated and the protective scope and related parameters were determined. The results of field experiment show that the danger of outbursts was evidently eliminated and the method of mining protective layers is effective and the safety and economic benefits are remarkable. The research has really applied worth and will give beneficial references to mining area with analogous conditions.

Experimental Study on Phase Characteristics of CO2 Injection in BZ13-2 Strong Volatile Oil Reservoir in Bohai Sea Buried Hills

BZ13-2 oil field is a deep submerged strongly volatile reservoir in Bohai Sea. This oil reservoir has the characteristics of high gas oil ratio and small difference in formation pressure and saturation point pressure. It usually adopts gas injection development to avoid crude oil degassing and fast decreasing production capacity. However, the phase characteristics and miscibility mechanism of this high-temperature and high-pressure fluid after gas injection are not clear. Therefore, it is necessary to study the feasibility of CO2 injection to improve oil recovery in near critical volatile oil reservoirs through CO2 injection experiments. In the early stage of the depletion experiment, the content of heavy components in the remaining oil increased significantly, so the depletion method is not conducive to the development of such reservoirs. With the increase of CO2 injection, the volumetric expansion coefficient of formation crude oil increases significantly, while the saturation pressure and formation crude oil viscosity remain basically unchanged. The minimum miscible pressure experiment shows that CO2 injection under formation pressure conditions can achieve multiphase miscibility. Based on experimental research results, the BZ13-2 oilfield is suitable for early gas injection development and can significantly improve recovery.

Gas exchange optimization in aircraft engines using sustainable aviation fuel:A design of experiment and genetic algorithm approach

The poppet valves two-stroke(PV2S)aircraft engine fueled with sustainable aviation fuel is a promising option for general aviation and unmanned aerial vehicle propulsion due to its high power-to-weight ratio,uniform torque output,and flexible valve timings.However,its high-altitude gas exchange performance remains unexplored,presenting new opportunities for optimization through artificial intelligence(AI)technology.This study uses validated 1D+3D models to evaluate the high-altitude gas exchange performance of PV2S aircraft engines.The valve timings of the PV2S engine exhibit considerable flexibility,thus the Latin hypercube design of experiments(DoE)methodology is employed to fit a response surface model.A genetic algorithm(GA)is applied to iteratively optimize valve timings for varying altitudes.The optimization process reveals that increasing the intake duration while decreasing the exhaust duration and valve overlap angles can significantly enhance high-altitude gas exchange performance.The optimal valve overlap angle emerged as 93°CA at sea level and 82°CA at 4000 m altitude.The effects of operating parameters,including engine speed,load,and exhaust back pressure,on the gas exchange process at varying altitudes are further investigated.The higher engine speed increases trapping efficiency but decreases the delivery ratio and charging efficiency at various altitudes.This effect is especially pronounced at elevated altitudes.The increase in exhaust back pressure will significantly reduce the delivery ratio and increase the trapping efficiency.This study demonstrates that integrating DoE with AI algorithms can enhance the high-altitude performance of aircraft engines,serving as a valuable reference for further optimization efforts.

The Impact of Aqueous Medium on Gas Yields and Kinetic Behaviors of Hydrogen Isotope Fractionation during Organic Matter Thermal Degradation

In order to recognize the impact of aqueous medium on gas yields and the kinetic behaviors of hydrogen isotope fractionation during organic matter thermal degradation, the gold tube apparatus was used to conduct thermal simulation experiments by mixing the nC18 with the water of different properties and proportions. The yields of natural gas components, the relation among hydrogen isotope composition of each component and the experimental temperatures vs. heating rates have been obtained, and the results indicate that under the higher temperature conditions, the hydrous experiment has obvious impact on gas yields, such as when more water is added, higher amounts of hydrocarbon gas and H2 are yielded, and the existence of water obviously prolongs the temperature interval with the existence of heavy hydrocarbon gas. It also shows that the hydrogen isotope of hydrocarbon gas generated by the hydrous experiment is obviously lighter than that generated by the anhydrous experiment, and with the increasing amount of added water, the δD value of hydrocarbon gas gradually decreases. Compared with gas yields, the variation of δD value is more sensitive to aqueous medium in the thermal simulation experiment. However, compared with the amount of the added water, the aqueous medium property has smaller impact on the gas yields, which still shows the inherit effect on hydrogen isotope composition of aqueous medium. Through the model simulation and the isotope fractionation behavior analysis, it is validated that the hydrogen isotope fractionation process can be well described by the chemical kinetic model. The difference of reaction fraction of normal methane and D-containing methane is large, corresponding to the same activation energy. The content of normal methane is obviously higher in the part with lower activation energy, while the content of D-containing methane is higher in the part with higher activation energy. Therefore, it will result in larger hydrogen isotope fractionation amplitude, and the δD values will be more sensitive to the variation of maturity. Meanwhile, the average activation energy of methane generation from nC18 in the hydrous experiment is higher than that in the anhydrous experiment, and the greater amount of added water, the larger the average activation energy of methane generation reaction. This has laid foundation for its exploratory application in the study of gas reservoir forming history and the gassource correlation, which indicates the research and application prospects in this orientation.

Sulfur deposition in sour gas reservoirs:laboratory and simulation study

Sulfur deposition in the formation, induced by a reduction in the solubility of the sulfur in the gas phase, may significantly reduce the inflow performance of sour gas wells and some wells in sour gas reservoirs have even become completely plugged with deposited sulfur within several months. Accurate prediction and effective management of sulfur deposition are crucial to the economic viability of sour gas reservoirs. In this paper, a dynamic flow experiment was carried out to investigate formation damage resulting from sulfur deposition using an improved experimental method. The core sample was extracted from the producing interval of the LG2 well, LG gas field in the Sichuan Basin. The experimental temperature was 26 °C and the initial pressure was 19 MPa. The displacement pressure continuously decreased from 19 to 10 MPa, and the depletion process lasted 15 days. Then the core was removed and dried. The core mass and core permeability were measured before and after experiments. Experimental results indicated that the core mass increased from 48.372 g before experiment to 48.386 g afterwards, while the core permeability reduced from 0.726 to 0.608 md during the experiment. Then the core was analyzed with a scanning electron microscope (SEM) and energy-dispersive X-ray mapping. The deposition pattern and micro-distribution of elemental sulfur was observed and the deposited elemental sulfur distributed as a film around the pore surface.

Optimizing the Pulsed Current Gas Tungsten Arc Welding Parameters

The selection of process parameter in the gas tungsten arc （GTA） welding of titanium alloy was presented for obtaining optimum grain size and hardness. Titanium alloy （Ti-6Al-4V） is one of the most important non-ferrous metals which offers great potential application in aerospace, biomedical and chemical industries, because of its low density （4.5 g/cm^3）, excellent corrosion resistance, high strength, attractive fracture behaviour and high melting point （1678℃）. The preferred welding process for titanium alloy is frequent GTA welding due to its comparatively easier applicability and better economy. In the case of single pass （GTA） welding of thinner section of this alloy, the pulsed current has been found beneficial due to its advantages over the conventional continuous current process. Many considerations come into the picture and one needs to carefully balance various pulse current parameters to reach an optimum combination. Four factors, five level, central composite, rotatable design matrix were used to optimize the required number of experimental conditions. Mathematical models were developed to predict the fusion zone grain size using analysis of variance （ANOVA） and regression analysis. The developed models were optimized using the traditional Hooke and Jeeve＇s algorithm. Experimental results were provided to illustrate the proposed approach.

Scaling of the flowfield in a combustion chamber with a gas-gas injector

The scaling of the flowfield in a gas gas combustion chamber is investigated theoretically, numerically and experimentally. To obtain the scaling criterion of the gas-gas combustion flowfield, formulation analysis of the threedimensional （3D） Navier-Stokes equations for a gaseous multi-component mixing reaction flow is conducted and dimensional analysis on the gas gas combustion phenomena is also carried out. The criterion implies that the size and the pressure of the gas gas combustion chamber can be changed. Based on the criterion, multi-element injector chambers with different geometric sizes and at different chamber pressures ranging from 3 MPa to 20 MPa are numerically simulated. A multi-element injector chamber is designed and hot-fire tested at five chamber pressures from 1.64 MPa to 3.68 MPa. Wall temperature measurements are used to understand the similarity of combustion flowfields in the tests. The results have verified the similarities between combustion flowfields under different chamber pressures and geometries, with the criterion applied.

Comparative Study of Hydrogen and Carbon Isotopic Composition of Gases Generated from the Pyrolysis of a Peat under Saltwater and Freshwater Conditions

To understand the influence of the diagenetic water medium on the isotopic compositions of thermogenic coalbed gas, both hydrous and anhydrous closed-system pyrolyses were performed at temperatures of 250°C to 650°C on an herbaceous marsh peat. Compared to the results of anhydrous pyrolysis, the hydrocarbon gases generated from hydrous pyrolyses have very different hydrogen isotopic compositions. However, the carbon isotopic compositions of the hydrocarbon gases became only slightly heavier in hydrous pyrolysis, compared to that from anhydrous pyrolysis. With the progress of thermal evolution from peat to a more advanced thermal maturity of vitrinite reflectance values（Ro） of 5.5% during the pyrolysis, the difference in the average δD value increased from 52‰ to 64‰ between the hydrous pyrolysis with saltwater and anhydrous pyrolysis and increased from 18‰ to 29‰ between the hydrous pyrolysis with freshwater and anhydrous pyrolysis, respectively. The difference in the average δ^（13）C value was only 1‰–2‰ between the hydrous and anhydrous pyrolysis. The relationships between the δD values of the generated hydrocarbon gases and Ro values as well as among δD values of the hydrocarbon gas species are established. The close relationships among these parameters suggest that the water medium had a significant effect on the hydrogen isotopic composition and a minimal effect on the carbon isotopic composition of the hydrocarbon gases. The results of these pyrolyses may provide information for the understanding of the genesis of coalbed gas from herbaceous marsh material with the participation of different diagenetic water media.