Study on gas hydrates for the solid transportation of natural gas

Natural gas hydrate typically contains 85 wt.% water and 15 wt.% natural gas, and commonly belongs to cubic structure I and II. When referred to standard conditions, 1 m3 solid hydrate contains up to 200 m3 of natural gas depending on pressure and temperature. Such the large volume of natural gas hydrate can be utilized to store and transport a large quantity of natural gas in a stable condition. In the present investigation, experiments were carried out for the formation of natural gas hydrate governed by pressure, temperature, gas compositions, etc. The results show that the equilibrium pressure of structure II is approximately 65% lower and the solubility is approximately 3 times higher than structure I. It is also found that for the subcooling of structure I and II of more than 9 and 11 K respectively, the hydrates are rapidly being formed. It is noted that utilizing nozzles for spraying water in the form of droplets into the natural gas dramatically reduces the hydrate formation time and increases its solubility at the same time.