Growth and aggregation micromorphology of natural gas hydrate particles near gas-liquid interface under stirring condition

To investigate the morphological evolution of the whole growth and aggregation processes of hydrate crystals near the gas–liquid interface,we used a high-pressure visual reactor with high-speed camera to capture the micromorphology of hydrate particles in a natural gas+pure water system with pressure from 2.6 to 3.6 MPa and sub-cooling from 4.7 to 6.23C.The results showed that under low sub-cooling conditions,the amount and size of particles increased first and then decreased in the range of 0–330 lm,and the small particles always dominated.These particles can be roughly classified into two categories:planar flake particles and polyhedral solid particles.Then,the concept of maximum growth dominant particle size was proposed to distinguish the morphological boundary of growth and aggregation.In addition,the micro model was established to better reflect the effects of particle formation process and evolution mechanism near the gas–liquid interface under stirring condition.The results of this study can provide a guidance for flow assurance in multiphase pipeline.

Structure optimization of the organ-pipe cavitating nozzle and its erosion ability test on hydrate-bearing sediments

Cavitating jet is a promising drilling rate improvement technology in both the marine natural gas hydrate (NGH) fluidization exploitation method and the integrated radial jet drilling and completion method. In present study, we aim to improve the efficiency of jet erosion and extracting NGH. With a computational fluid dynamics (CFD) method, the pressure, velocity and cavitation field characteristics of organ-pipe cavitating jet (OPCJ) are analysed. The divergent angle, throat length, and divergent length of OPCJ nozzle are preferred to obtain stronger jet cavitation erosion effect. Laboratory experiments of gas hydrate-bearing sediments (GHBS) erosion by OPCJ and conical jet (CJ) are conducted to compare and validate the jet erosion performance. The impinging models of OPCJ and CJ are constructed to study the impact characteristics. Results show that the preferred values of divergent angle, throat length, and divergent length are 15°, 1d, and 3d, respectively, in present simulation conditions. For GHBS, the OPCJ possesses the advantages of high efficiency and low energy consumption. Moreover, the OPCJ has higher penetration efficiency, while showing equivalent penetration ability compared to CJ. During the impinging process, the OPCJ can induce stronger impact pressure and turbulence effect, and also shows stronger chambering effect and bottom cleaning ability compared to CJ. This study presents the erosion performance of OPCJ and CJ on GHBS, and provides preliminary insights on the potential field applications in NGH exploitation.

Well logging evaluation of fine-grained hydrate-bearing sediment reservoirs: Considering the effect of clay content

Hydrate reservoirs are different from the host reservoirs of all other fossil energy sources because the characteristics of hydrate reservoirs are generally controlled by deep-sea fine-grained sedimentation. In such reservoirs, the reliability of the classical logging evaluation models established for diagenetic reservoirs is questionable. This study used well W8 in the Qiongdongnan Basin to explore the clay content, porosity, saturation, and hydrate-enriched layer identification of a logging-based hydrate reservoir, and it was found that considering the effect of the clay content on the log response is necessary in the logging evaluation of hydrate reservoirs. In the evaluation of clay content, a method based on the optimization inversion method can obtain a more reliable clay content than other methods. Fine-grained sediment reservoirs have a high clay content, and the effect of clay on log responses must be considered when calculating porosity. In addition, combining density logging and neutron porosity logging data can obtain the best porosity calculation results, and the porosity calculation method based on sonic logging predicted that the porosity of the studied reservoir was low. It was very effective to identify hydrate layers based on resistivity, but the clay distribution and pore structure will also affect the relationship between resistivity, porosity and saturation, and it was suggested that the factors effecting the resistivity of different layers should be considered in the saturation evaluation and that a suitable model should be selected. This study also considered the lack of clarity of the relationships among the lithology, physical properties, hydrate-bearing occurrence properties, and log response properties of hydrate reservoirs and the lack of specialized petrophysical models. This research can directly help to improve hydrate logging evaluation.

Investigation on synergistic deposition of wax and hydrates in waxy water-in-oil(W/O) flow systems

Elucidating the synergistic effect of wax and hydrates, involving formation, aggregation and deposition,is imperative to the operation and transportation safety for offshore petroleum fields. To understand the characteristics and mechanism of synergistic deposition of wax and hydrates, flow and deposition experiments of systems with different wax contents(0-2.89 wt%), initial flow rates, pressures and temperatures were conducted in a high pressure visual flow loop. According to the flow rate and pressure drop data as well as the visual window observation, four different types of plugging scenarios of waxhydrate coexisting systems with different flow properties and wall deposition state were summarized,including rapid plugging, transition plugging, gradual plugging type I and gradual plugging type II.Compared with the wax-free system after hydrate formation, even with the addition of anti-agglomerant(AA) with the same concentration, wax-hydrate coexisting systems could not reach stable hydrate slurry flow state, indicating that the existence of wax deteriorated the performance of AA. Aside from the influence of wax crystals on hydrate agglomeration, it was found that wax deposition layer would alter the adhesion and bedding of hydrates, resulting in the variation of flow properties and wall deposition state.For low wax content systems(0.75 wt%) where rapid plugging occurred, the synergistic effect between wax and hydrates promoted the formation of wax-hydrate coupling aggregates, resulting in severe local deposition when the coupling aggregates attained critical deposition size and consequently decreasing flow rate, forming a vicious circle of decreasing transportability. Since bedding of coupling aggregates was hindered by the uniformly coated wax deposition layer on pipe wall, gradual plugging rather than rapid plugging occurred in medium wax content systems(1-1.25 wt%), predominately caused by the gradual increment in viscosity of waxy hydrate slurry. For relatively high wax content systems(2.89 wt%), hydrate formation and plugging did not occur, due to the insulation effect of wax deposition layer. A physical model for the synergistic deposition of wax and hydrates was also presented, which was meaningful to the development of a mathematical model for the prediction of blockage formation and risk analysis.

Experimental investigation on the effective thermal conductivities of different hydrate-bearing sediments

The natural gas hydrate has been regarded as an important future green energy.Significant progress on the hydrate exploitation has been made,but some challenges are still remaining.In order to enhance the hydrate exploitation efficiency,a significant understanding of the effective thermal conductivity(ETC)of the hydrate-bearing sediment has become essential,since it directly controls the heat and mass transfer behaviors,and thereby determines the stability of hydrate reservoir and production rate.In this study,the effective thermal conductivities of various hydrate-bearing sediments were in-situ measured and studied.The impacts of temperature,particle size and type of sediment were investigated.The effective thermal conductivities of the quartz sand sediments before and after hydrate formation were in-situ measured.The results show the weak negative correlation of effective thermal conductivity of the quartz sand sediment on the temperature before and after the hydrate formation.The effective thermal conductivity of the hydrate-bearing sediment decreases with the increase of particle size of the sediment.The dominant effect of the type of porous medium on the characteristics of the effective thermal conductivity of hydrate-bearing sediment was highlighted.The results indicate that both the effective thermal conductivities of hydrate-bearing quartz sand sediment and hydrate-bearing silicon carbide sediment are weakly negatively correlated with temperature,but the effective thermal conductivity of hydrate-bearing clay sediment is weakly positively dependent on the temperature.In addition,the values of the effective thermal conductivities of various hydrate-bearing sediments are in the order of hydrate-bearing silicon carbide sediment>hydrate-bearing quartz sand sediment>hydrate-bearing clay sediment.These findings could suggest that the intrinsic thermal conductivity of porous medium could control the characteristics of effective thermal conductivity of hydrate-bearing sediment.

Slope Instability Analysis of the Qiongdongnan Basin in the Northern Part of the South China Sea:Implications for the Risk Evaluation of Deepwater Drilling

The instability of continental slopes damages marine engineering equipment,such as submarine pipelines,resulting in the generation of tsunamis,which endangers the safety of nearshore personnel.Therefore,research on the instability of continental slopes where submarine landslides usually occur is crucial to the risk evaluation of deepwater drilling.Previous studies were mainly based on simplified 2D and 3D models,which extend the 2D model applied on submarine slopes with complex topography.In this study,a numerical model with bathymetric data from the Qiongdongnan Basin was established.Furthermore,3D slope stability analysis and static and dynamic analyses were conducted.The static analysis found two discussions where slopes are most likely to occur.Through the analysis of different seismic forces,the dynamic result showed that an instability area is added to the two positions where the static analysis is unstable.Topography scatters and transmits seismic waves and controls the accumulation and diffusion of seismic energy.3D calculations and analysis revealed that the direction of slope instability is closely related to terrain inclination,slope,terrain effect,and terrain curvature.Data showed that instability situations could not be derived from a single direction or profile data.Such situations are an important factor in slope stability analysis and are critical to the prediction and evaluation of marine geological disasters.

Investigations on methane hydrate formation,dissociation,and viscosity in gas-water-sand system

Understanding the kinetics and viscosity of hydrate slurry in gas-water-sand system is of great significance for the high-efficiency and high-safety development of natural gas hydrates.The effect of micronsized sands with various concentrations and particle sizes on the hydrate formation,dissociation,and viscosity in gas-water-sand system are investigated in this work.The experimental results show that the hydrate induction time in the sandy system is slightly prolonged compared to the pure gas-water system,and the inhibition effect first strengthens and then weakens as the sand concentration increases from0 wt%to 5 wt%.Besides,the difference of hydrate formation amount in various cases is not obvious.The concentration and particle size of sand have little effect on the kinetics of hydrate formation.Both promoting and inhibiting effects on hydrate formation have been found in the sandy multiphase fluid.For the viscosity characteristics,there are three variations of hydrate slurry viscosity during the formation process:Steep drop type,S-type and Fluctuation type.Moreover,appropriate sand size is helpful to reduce the randomness of slurry viscosity change.Meanwhile,even at the same hydrate volume fraction,the slurry viscosity in the formation process is significantly higher than that in dissociation process,which needs further research.This work provides further insights of hydrate formation,dissociation,and viscosity in gas-water-sand system,which is of great significance for safe and economic development of natural gas hydrates.

Investigation on hydrate growth at the oil–water interface:In the presence of asphaltene

Natural gas hydrates can readily form in deep-water oil production processes and pose a great threat to the oil industry.Moreover,the coexistence of hydrate and asphaltene can result in more severe challenges to subsea flow assurance.In order to study the effects of asphaltene on hydrate growth at the oil-water interface,a series of micro-experiments were conducted in a self-made reactor,where hydrates nucleated and grew on the surface of a water droplet immersed in asphaltene-containing oil.Based on the micro-observations,the shape and growth rate of the hydrate shell formed at the oil-water interface were mainly investigated and the effects of asphaltene on hydrate growth were analyzed.According to the experimental results,the shape of the water droplet and the interfacial area changed significantly after the formation of the hydrate shell when the asphaltene concentration was higher than a certain value.A mechanism related to the reduction of the interfacial tension caused by the absorption of asphaltenes on the interface was proposed for illustration.Moreover,the growth rate of the hydrate shell decreased significantly with the increasing asphaltene concentration under experimental conditions.The conclusions of this paper could provide preliminary insight how asphaltene affect hydrate growth at the oil-water interface.

Effect of microscopic pore structures on ultrasonic velocity in tight sandstone with different fluid saturation

Microcosmic details of pore structure are the essential factors affecting the elastic properties of tight sandstone reservoirs,while the relationships in between are still incompletely clear due to the fact that quantitative or semi-quantitative experiments are hard to achieve.Here,three sets of tight sandstone samples from the Junggar Basin are selected elaborately based on casting thin sections,XRD detection,and petro-physical measurement,and each set is characterized by a single varied microcosmic factor(pore connectedness,pore type,and grain size)of the pore structure.An ultrasonic pulse transmission technique is conducted to study the response of elastic properties to the varied microcosmic details of pore structure in the situation of different pore fluid(gas,brine,and oil)saturation and confining pressure.Observations show samples with less connectedness,inter-granular dominant pores,and smaller grain size showed greater velocities in normal conditions.Vpis more sensitive to the variations of pore type,while Vsis more sensitive to the variations of grain size.Samples with better connectedness at fluid saturation(oil or brine)show greater sensitivity to the confining pressure than those with gas saturation with a growth rate of 6.9%-11.9%,and the sensitivity is more likely controlled by connectedness.The pore types(inter-granular or intra-granular)can be distinguished by the sensitivity of velocities to the variation of pore fluid at high confining pressure(>60 MPa).The samples with small grain sizes tend to be more sensitive to the variations of confining pressure.With this knowledge,we can semi-quantitatively distinguish the complex pore structures with different fluids by the variation of elastic properties,which can help improve the precision of seismic reservoir prediction for tight sandstone reservoirs.

Synthesis and evaluation of poly(N-vinyl caprolactam)-co-tert-butyl acrylate as kinetic hydrate inhibitor

Low dosage kinetic hydrate inhibitors(KHIs)are a kind of alternative chemical additives to high dosage thermodynamic inhibitors for preventing gas hydrate formation in oil&gas production wells and transportation pipelines.In this paper,a new KHI,poly(N-vinyl caprolactam)-co-tert-butyl acrylate(PVCapco-TBA),was successfully synthesized with N-vinyl caprolactam(NVCap)and tert-butyl acrylate.The kinetic inhibition performances of PVCap-co-TBA on the formations of both structureⅠmethane hydrate and structureⅡnatural gas hydrate were investigated by measuring the onset times of hydrate formation under different conditions and compared with commercial KHIs such as PVP,PVCap and inhibex 501.The results indicated that PVCap-co-TBA outperformed these widely applied inhibitors for both structureⅠand structureⅡhydrates.At the same dosage of KHI,the maximum tolerable degree of subcooling under which the onset time of hydrate formation exceeded 24 hours for structureⅠhydrate was much lower than that for structureⅡhydrate.The inhibition strength increased with the increasing dosage of PVCap-co-TBA;The maximum tolerable degree of subcooling for the natural gas hydrate is more than10 K when the dosage was higher than 0.5%(mass)while it achieved 12 K when that dosage rose to0.75%(mass).Additionally,we found polypropylene glycol could be used as synergist at the dosage of 1.0%(mass)or so,under which the kinetic inhibition performance of PVCap-co-TBA could be improved significantly.All evaluation results demonstrated that PVCap-co-TBA was a very promising KHI and a competitive alternative to the existing commercial KHIs.

Key issues in development of offshore natural gas hydrate

As a new clean energy resource in the 21st century,natural gas hydrate is considered as one of the most promising strategic resources in the future.This paper,based on the research progress in exploitation of natural gas hydrate(NGH)in China and the world,systematically reviewed and discussed the key issues in development of natural gas hydrate.From an exploitation point of view,it is recommended that the concepts of diagenetic hydrate and non-diagenetic hydrate be introduced.The main factors to be considered are whether diagenesis,stability of rock skeleton structure,particle size and cementation mode,thus NGHs are divided into 6 levels and used unused exploitation methods according to different types.The study of the description and quantitative characterization of abundance in hydrate enrichment zone,and looking for gas hydrate dessert areas with commercial exploitation value should be enhanced.The concept of dynamic permeability and characterization of the permeability of NGH by time-varying equations should be established.The‘Three-gas co-production’(natural gas hydrate,shallow gas,and conventional gas)may be an effective way to achieve early commercial exploitation.Although great progress has been made in the exploitation of natural gas hydrate,there still exist enormous challenges in basic theory research,production methods,and equipment and operation modes.Only through hard and persistent exploration and innovation can natural gas hydrate be truly commercially developed on a large scale and contribute to sustainable energy supply.

A large-scale experimental simulator for natural gas hydrate recovery and its experimental applications

To facilitate the recovery of natural gas hydrate(NGH)deposits in the South China Sea,we have designed and developed the world's largest publicly reported experimental simulator for NGH recovery.This system can also be used to perform CO_(2) capture and sequestration experiments and to simulate NGH recovery using CH_(4)/CO_(2) replacement.This system was used to prepare a shallow gas and hydrate reservoir,to simulate NGH recovery via depressurization with a horizontal well.A set of experimental procedures and data analysis methods were prepared for this system.By analyzing the measurements taken by each probe,we determined the temperature,pressure,and acoustic parameter trends that accompany NGH recovery.The results demonstrate that the temperature fields,pressure fields,acoustic characteristics,and electrical impedances of an NGH recovery experiment can be precisely monitored in real time using the aforementioned experimental system.Furthermore,fluid production rates can be calculated at a high level of precision.It was concluded that(1)the optimal production pressure differential ranges from 0.8 to 1.0 MPa,and the wellbore will clog if the pressure differential reaches 1.2 MPa;and(2)during NGH decomposition,strong heterogeneities will arise in the surrounding temperature and pressure fields,which will affect the shallow gas stratum.

Research on intelligent judgment method of natural gas hydrate drilling risk

There are many emergency risks in the process of natural gas hydrate(NGH)drilling.In order to ensure the safe and efficient exploitation of NGH,it is urgent to establish an intelligent judgment method for the risks in the process of NGH drilling.In this paper,the response relationship between monitoring parameters and risk categories of NGH while drilling is established.Based on fuzzy analytic hierarchy process(FAHP),the comprehensive weights of 10 risk monitoring parameters are obtained,including gas production,wellbore instability,hydrate ice barrier,drill string fracture,sticking,bit balling,drilling tool piercement,gas seepage,seabed subsidence and seabed landslide.Besides,the comprehensive judgment weight matrix is constructed,and the reasonable fluctuation range of monitoring parameters is formed.Thus,the intelligent judgment method of NGH drilling risk is established.The intelligent judgment and alarm of NGH drilling risks can be realized quickly and accurately by this method,namely,it can monitor the risks in the process of operation and guarantee the construction safety of NGH drilling.

Rapid dissociation and on-site saturation evaluation of methane hydrate sediment samples for natural gas hydrate exploitation

Natural gas hydrate is a kind of clean energy with huge reserves,and the saturation(volume percentage of hydrate in pore space of sediments)is the key parameter for determining whether the reservoir is worthy of exploitation.In this work,rapid hydrate dissociation by the combination of heat injection and NaCl inhibitor addition was studied,and an on-site evaluation method for hydrate saturation in sediment samples was proposed by using a core sampler to transfer hydrate samples under pressure.The results showed that the average gas production rate per unit volume was increased significantly to reach 7.22 L/Lr$min-1 by the injection of NaCl aqueous solution with 50.9C,which was attributed to the increase of the chemical potential to further accelerate the rate of hydrate dissociation in the presence of NaCl.Furthermore,for the measurement of methane hydrate samples saturation with a volume of 673 cm3(which contained 1.4 mol hydrates with the saturation of 58%),hydrate saturation could be accurately achieved within 30 min with a relative error lower than 11.7%This work may provide new thoughts for on-site saturation evaluation and rapid dissociation of hydrate samples during natural gas hydrate exploitation.

Wellbore temperature distribution during drilling of natural gas hydrate formation in South China sea

The natural gas hydrate resources in the South China Sea alone are about 85 trillion cubic meters.In the drilling process of marine gas hydrate,the natural gas hydrate will decompose and produce gas,as the rising of temperature and dropping of the pressure in the annulus.This process will have a significant impact on drilling safety.Therefore,it is necessary to study the wellbore temperature distribution during the drilling of marine hydrate layer.In this paper,the wellbore temperature distribution of safe drilling in hydrated formation is taken as the research goal,and the research status of relevant domestic and international wellbore temperatures was investigated.According to the characteristics of the marine environment and reservoir-forming characteristics of hydrate reservoirs in the South China Sea,the wellbore temperature distribution model of offshore drilling wellbore under the condition of hydrate decomposition was established.The temperature distribution curve of drilling straight wellbore in hydrate layer of South China Sea was obtained.When drilling the hydrate reservoir,the distribution regularity of the wellbore temperature is similar to that of the conventional offshore drilling wellbore.However,the temperature of the wellbore annulus near the hydrate decomposition site is lower than the ambient temperature,mainly due to the hydrate decomposition endothermic.In this paper,the sensitivity analysis of several main parameters of the wellbore temperature distribution of drilling straight wellbore in hydrate layer of South China Sea was carried out.Through the conduction of experiment and numerical simulation,we have get some new findings:(1)The hydrate saturation has little effect on the wellbore temperature;(2)As the drilling fluid displacement increases,the annulus temperature of the wellbore above the mudline increases,and the temperature of the wellbore below the mudline decreases continuously;(3)As the density of the drilling fluid increases,the temperature at the wellhead decreases,and the temperature at the bottom of the well increases slightly;(4)The greater the rate of penetration of the well,the temperature at the upper part of the wellbore decreases,and the temperature at the bottom of the wellbore increases;Among them,the penetration rate has the most obvious effect on the annular temperature.The results are expected to be helpful to guide the drilling process of marine gas hydrate and offer some references.

Fundamental characteristics of gas hydrate-bearing sediments in the Shenhu area, South China Sea

The basic physical properties of marine natural gas hydrate deposits are important to the understanding of seabed growth conditions, occurrence regularity, and occurrence environment of natural gas hydrates. A comprehensive analysis of the core samples of drilling pressure-holding hydrate deposits at a depth of 1310 m in the Shenhu area of the South China Sea was conducted. The experimental results indicate that the particle size in the hydrate sediment samples are mainly distributed in the range from 7.81 µm to 21.72 µm, and the average particle size decreases as the depth of the burial increases. The X-ray CT analytical images and surface characteristics SEM scan images suggest that the sediment is mostly silty clay. There are a large number of bioplastics in the sediment, and the crack inside the core may be areas of hydrate formation.

Analysis of physical properties of gas hydrate-bearing unconsolidated sediment samples from the ultra-deepwater area in the South China Sea

Marine natural gas hydrate has recently attracted global attention as a potential new clean energy source. Laboratory measurements of various physical properties of gas hydrate-bearing marine sediments can provide valuable information for developing efficient and safe extraction technology of natural gas hydrates. This study presents comprehensive measurement results and analysis of drilled hydrate-bearing sediments samples recovered from Qiongdongnan Basin in the South China Sea. The results show that the gas hydrate in the core samples is mainly methane hydrate with a methane content of approximately 95%, and the other components are ethane and carbon dioxide. The saturation of the samples fluctuates from 2%–60%, the porosity is approximately 38%–43%, and the water content is approximately 30%–50%, which indicate that high water saturation means that timely drainage should be paid attention to during hydrate extraction. In addition, the median diameter of the sediment samples is mainly distributed in the range of 15 to 34 µm, and attention should be paid to the prevention and control of sand production in the mining process. Moreover, the thermal conductivity is distributed in the range of 0.75 to 0.96 W/(m·K) as measured by the flat plate heat source method. The relatively low thermal conductivity of hydrates at this study site indicates that a combined approach is encouraged for natural gas production technologies. It is also found that clay flakes and fine particles are attached to the surface of large particles in large numbers. Such characteristics will lead to insufficient permeability during the production process.

Sensitivity analysis of reservoir risk in marine gas hydrate drilling

It is easy to change the original temperature state of marine gas hydrate reservoir by drilling,which leads to uncontrollable decomposition of gas hydrate and release of large amount of gas.The decomposition gas will further escape and expand,and the reservoir will break and collapse due to its weak cementation characteristic,which will easily lead to a series of other potential risks.Therefore,in this study,based on the drilling process of marine gas hydrate,we establish the theoretical model and numerical calculation method of wellbore temperature field,analyze the influence on wellbore temperature of drilling fluid displacement,density,viscosity and injection temperature,and seawater depth.Then the sensitivity laws of reservoir risk in marine gas hydrate drilling are obtained.The results show that with the increase of drilling fluid displacement,density,viscosity and injection temperature,the temperature in lower well section and bottom hole will increase,making the increasing amplitude of temperature in hydrate reservoir larger and the scope of influence on hydrate reservoir stability bigger.Moreover,drilling is more likely to raise the temperature of reservoirs in shallow seawater depth,posing greater risks.Thus,engineering measures to avoid risks caused by rising reservoir temperature in marine gas hydrate reservoir drilling are presented.This study is of great significance to ensure the safety of marine gas hydrate reservoir drilling.

Routes to hydrate formation from water dissolved in gas and impact of mineral surfaces

Mineral surfaces adsorb water to extreme densities and corresponding low chemical potentials.This results in a dual effect in terms of hydrate.Water and slightly polar components adsorb directly on mineral surfaces and generate efficient conditions for hydrate nucleation.But due to the extremely low chemical potential of adsorbed water the hydrate nuclei formed towards mineral surfaces have to either detach from the vicinity of mineral surfaces,or be bridged by structured water in a dynamic attachment of hydrate cores some few nm outside mineral surfaces.During transport of gas(CH4,gas mixtures,CO2)the conventional water dew-point analysis will typically result in a substantially higher acceptable water concentration as compared to the concentration for adsorption of water from gas to rust surface.Direct formation of hydrate from water dissolved in gas is thermodynamically feasible,as discussed in open literature.In this work we demonstrate that it is also feasible in terms of mass transport.A new theory for enthalpy of hydrate dissociation has been extended to also direct hydrate formation from water dissolved in gas.The remaining question is whether direct hydrate formation from gas is also feasible in terms of transporting the hydrate formation heat away through a heat insulating medium.We propose further research strategies to enlighten this issue.Addition of glycols to critical points in processing of gas or transport is already in use by companies like for instance EQUINOR.There is,however,a need for more work on how efficient it is and if it can also be used for multiphase transport of hydrocarbons with significant water cut.Some research activities are in progress and briefly outlined here.

Simulation of the effect of hydrate adhesion properties on flow safety in solid fluidization exploitation

During the solid fluidization exploitation of marine natural gas hydrates,the hydrate particles and cuttings produced via excavation and crushing are transported by the drilling mud.The potential flow safety issues arising during the transport process,such as the blockage of pipelines and equipment,have attracted considerable attention.This study aims to investigate the impact of hydrate adhesion features,including agglomeration,cohesion,and deposition,on the flow transport processes in solid fluidization exploitation and to provide a reference for the design and application of multiphase hydrate slurry transport in solid fluidization exploitation.We established a numerical simulation model that considers the hydrate adhesion properties using the coupled computational fluid dynamics and discrete element method(CFD-DEM)for the multiphase mixed transport in solid fluidization exploitation.An appropriate model to simulate the adhesion force of the hydrate particles and the corresponding parameter values were obtained.The conclusions obtained are as follows.Under the same operating conditions,a stationary bed is more likely to form in the transport process due to the hydrate adhesion forces;adhesion forces can increase the critical deposition velocity of the mixture of hydrate particles and cuttings.Hydrate adhesion lowers the height of the solid-phase moving bed,while the agglomeration and cohesion of particles can intensify the aggregation and deposition of hydrate debris and cuttings at the bottom of the pipe.These particles tend to form a deposit bed rather than a moving bed,which reduces the effective flow area of the pipeline and increases the risk of blockage.