ISSN: 1945-7553
CODEN: JTEVAB
Page Count: 7

Synthesis of Methane Hydrate in an Unconsolidated Medium

Siriwardane, HJ
West Virginia University, Morgantown, WV

Smith, DH
National Energy Technology Laboratory, U.S. Department of Energy, Morgantown, WV

(Received 27 November 2000; accepted 9 July 2001)

Abstract

Under certain conditions of low temperature and high pressure, mixtures of small gas molecules and water form crystalline, ice-like compounds called clathrate hydrates. It is believed that large quantities of natural deposits of methane hydrate are formed in unconsolidated media from natural gas and water. Development of recovery techniques for this potential natural gas resource requires comprehensive laboratory investigations of engineering properties, which in turn require a capability for reproducibly synthesizing methane hydrate in unconsolidated matrix materials. This paper presents a procedure for synthesizing methane hydrate in an unconsolidated sand matrix. Results of dissociation experiments indicate that the samples prepared according to this procedure are relatively homogeneous and suitable for use in investigations of mechanical and other properties. The methane hydrate content and porosity of the samples can be controlled in the procedure developed.

Keywords:
methane hydrate, synthesis, unconsolidated media, homogeneity, conversion ratio

Paper ID: JTE12283J
DOI: 10.1520/JTE12283J
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