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Gas Hydrates: A Future Clean Energy Resource

A special issue of Energies (ISSN 1996-1073). This special issue belongs to the section "B2: Clean Energy".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 14 March 2025 | Viewed by 4538

Special Issue Editors


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Guest Editor
Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of Perugia, Via G. Duranti 93, 06125 Perugia, Italy
Interests: gas hydrates; carbon capture and storage; natural gas sources; biogas production; waste biomass valorization
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

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Guest Editor
Institute for Ocean Engineering, Shenzhen International Graduate School, Tsinghua University, Shenzhen 518055, China
Interests: gas hydrate; hydrate-based CO2 sequestration; hydrate-based hydrogen storage

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Gas hydrates are garnering widespread attention from the scientific community, particularly due to their potential to be used as an alternative energy source and also because they are an alternative for the final disposal of carbon dioxide into deep oceans. The importance of gas hydrates can also be witnessed with the increasing discussions centered around them in several organizational forums and the establishment of international congresses exclusively focused on the exploration and use of gas hydrates such as the upcoming European Conference on Gas Hydrates (Italy 2024).

However, the challenges of technical feasibility and the economic competitiveness in the exploitation of natural gas hydrate reservoirs are crucial, which need to be overcome at the earliest, requiring constant efforts from both academics and the scientific community.

This Special Issue aims to offer a platform to share the recent advancements on gas hydrates research, by welcoming original and innovative experimental studies, as well as critical reviews.

Subject areas include, but are not limited to, the following:

  • Strategies for direct recovery of methane from natural reservoirs;
  • Recovery of methane via replacement processes, with pure carbon dioxide and/or with the addition of further guest species, as nitrogen, hydrogen, propane and others;
  • Production of hydrates for the final disposal of carbon dioxide;
  • Validation of analytical models, aimed at broadening the knowledge on the exploitation of natural reservoirs;
  • Detailed reports of field tests.

Dr. Alberto Maria Gambelli
Dr. Yan Li
Guest Editors

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Keywords

  • natural gas hydrates
  • energy production
  • CO2 final disposal
  • replacement processes

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Published Papers (3 papers)

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Research

41 pages, 14238 KiB  
Article
Benedict–Webb–Rubin–Starling Equation of State + Hydrate Thermodynamic Theories: An Enhanced Prediction Method for CO2 Solubility and CO2 Hydrate Phase Equilibrium in Pure Water/NaCl Aqueous Solution System
by Changyu You, Zhaoyang Chen, Xiaosen Li, Qi Zhao, Yun Feng and Chuan Wang
Energies 2024, 17(10), 2356; https://doi.org/10.3390/en17102356 - 13 May 2024
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1210
Abstract
Accurately predicting the phase behavior and physical properties of carbon dioxide (CO2) in pure water/NaCl mixtures is crucial for the design and implementation of carbon capture, utilization, and storage (CCUS) technology. However, the prediction task is complicated by CO2 liquefaction, [...] Read more.
Accurately predicting the phase behavior and physical properties of carbon dioxide (CO2) in pure water/NaCl mixtures is crucial for the design and implementation of carbon capture, utilization, and storage (CCUS) technology. However, the prediction task is complicated by CO2 liquefaction, CO2 hydrate formation, multicomponent and multiphase coexistence, etc. In this study, an improved method that combines Benedict–Webb–Rubin–Starling equation of state (BWRS EOS) + hydrate thermodynamic theories was proposed to predict CO2 solubility and phase equilibrium conditions for a mixed system across various temperature and pressure conditions. By modifying the interaction coefficients in BWRS EOS and the Van der Waals–Platteeuw model, this new method is applicable to complex systems containing two liquid phases and a CO2 hydrate phase, and its high prediction accuracy was verified through a comparative evaluation with a large number of reported experimental data. Furthermore, based on the calculation results, the characteristics of CO2 solubility and the variation of phase equilibrium conditions of the mixture system were discussed. These findings highlight the influence of hydrates and NaCl on CO2 solubility characteristics and clearly demonstrate the hindrance of NaCl to the formation of CO2 hydrates. This study provides valuable insights and fundamental data for designing and implementing CCUS technology that contribute to addressing global climate change and environmental challenges. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Gas Hydrates: A Future Clean Energy Resource)
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14 pages, 2285 KiB  
Article
Production of CH4/C3H8 (85/15 vol%) Hydrate in a Lab-Scale Unstirred Reactor: Quantification of the Promoting Effect Due to the Addition of Propane to the Gas Mixture
by Alberto Maria Gambelli, Giovanni Gigliotti and Federico Rossi
Energies 2024, 17(5), 1104; https://doi.org/10.3390/en17051104 - 26 Feb 2024
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1047
Abstract
By itself, propane is capable to form hydrates at extremely contained pressures, if compared with the values typical of “guests” such as methane and carbon dioxide. Therefore, its addition in mixtures with gases such as those previously mentioned is expected to reduce the [...] Read more.
By itself, propane is capable to form hydrates at extremely contained pressures, if compared with the values typical of “guests” such as methane and carbon dioxide. Therefore, its addition in mixtures with gases such as those previously mentioned is expected to reduce the pressure required for hydrate formation. When propane is mixed with carbon dioxide, the promoting effect cannot be observed since, due to their molecular size, these two molecules cannot fit in the same unit cell of hydrates. Therefore, each species produces hydrates independently from the other, and the beneficial effect is almost completely prevented. Conversely, if propane is mixed with methane, the marked difference in size, together with the capability of methane molecules to fit in the smaller cages of both sI and sII structures, will allow to form hydrates in thermodynamic conditions lower than those required for pure methane hydrates. This study aims to experimentally characterize such a synergistic and promoting effect, and to quantity it from a thermodynamic point of view. Hydrates were formed and dissociated within a silica porous sediment and the results were compared with the phase boundary equilibrium conditions for pure methane hydrates, defined according to experimental values available elsewhere in the literature. The obtained results were finally explained in terms of cage occupancy. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Gas Hydrates: A Future Clean Energy Resource)
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25 pages, 8968 KiB  
Article
Assessment of Gas Production from Complex Hydrate System in Qiongdongnan Basin of South China Sea
by Lu Yu, Hongfeng Lu, Liang Zhang, Chenlu Xu, Zenggui Kuang, Xian Li, Han Yu and Yejia Wang
Energies 2023, 16(21), 7447; https://doi.org/10.3390/en16217447 - 4 Nov 2023
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1212
Abstract
The China Geological Survey (CGS) has carried out a large number of surveys and core drilling over the deepwater area of Qiongdongnan Basin (QDNB) in the South China Sea and discovered the natural gas hydrate system controlled by the gas chimney with a [...] Read more.
The China Geological Survey (CGS) has carried out a large number of surveys and core drilling over the deepwater area of Qiongdongnan Basin (QDNB) in the South China Sea and discovered the natural gas hydrate system controlled by the gas chimney with a high geothermal gradient. The complex hydrate system consists of a sandy hydrate reservoir distributed around a lateral transition gas-hydrate mixed zone and a free gas zone in the middle. The hydrate and gas are distributed in the same layer, which is thin but potentially valuable for commercial exploitation. In this paper, a geological model of the target hydrate system in QDNB was established based on the results of several rounds of drilling. The method of numerical simulation was utilized to assess the production capacity of the target hydrate system and clarify the evolution of hydrate and gas saturation distribution with different well positions. The simulation results indicate that the producer well built in the center of the highly-saturated hydrate zone has a limited gas production capacity, with a cumulative production of only 7.25 × 106 m3 in 9 years. The well built at the boundary of the hydrate zone can rapidly link up the gas in the transition zone through a large production pressure differential, but it lacks control over the hydrates and its dissociated gas in the transition zone—the cumulative gas production volume from hydrate accounts for only 12.3%. As for the wells built in the transition zone and gas zone, they can directly invoke the free gas production capacity. Free gas is produced as the formation pressure reduces and hydrate is induced to dissociate, making the gas from the hydrate the subsequent production capacity. The cumulative production can exceed 6 × 108 m3 in 9 years. The stable production duration can extend to 2645 days, and the cumulative proportion of gas at the wellhead from hydrate reaches close to 30%. It is necessary to avoid the free water layer. The bottom water coning would improve the water production by 40% and shorten the stable production duration. In summary, the complex hydrate system of this type in the QDNB has the potential for industrialized exploitation. In the future, the well group can be used for the further improvement of the hydrate utilization rate. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Gas Hydrates: A Future Clean Energy Resource)
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