Natural gas storage/transportation has been a critical part in widening the energy carrier usage. Storing natural gas in the hydrate form has gained much attention as it can accommodate a large amount of gas in the hydrate structure and involves only water and operating conditions that are not as severe as other conventional methods like compression and liquefaction. However, forming methane hydrate still takes time, and it is still challenging to have methane trapped in the hydrate structure with a practical amount and usable conditions. This work explored the possibility of using hydrate technology to store natural gas at the ambient condition. From the study, the methane hydrates can be formed at a much faster rate with a higher methane storage capacity with the aid of both thermodynamics and kinetics promoters. In addition, it is also possible to have the hydrates formed close to room temperature. For example, with an unstirred crystallizer, the addition of sodium dodecyl sulfate decreased the interfacial tension and increased the hydrate formation. Synergistic effects were obtained with the addition of a second promoter, which further increased the hydrate formation rate and increased the hydrate formation temperature.

Natural gas storage with hydrate technology at the ambient condition

2019 Spring National Meeting

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