water transfer characteristics during methane hydrate formation processes in layered media水转移特征分层媒体中甲烷水合物的形成过程中.pdfVIP

Energies 2011, 4, 1129-1137; doi:10.3390/en4081129 OPEN ACCESS energies ISSN 1996-1073 /journal/energies Article Water Transfer Characteristics during Methane Hydrate Formation Processes in Layered Media Peng Zhang *, Qingbai Wu, Yibin Pu and Yousheng Deng State Key Laboratory, Cold and Arid Regions Environmental and Engineering Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Lanzhou 730000, Gansu, China; E-Mails: qbwu@ (Q.W.); pybin@ (Y.P.); dengys@ (Y.D.) * Author to whom correspondence should be addressed; E-Mail: zhangpeng@; Tel.: +86-931-4967887; Fax: +86-931-4967284. Received: 7 June 2011; in revised form: 26 July 2011 / Accepted: 27 July 2011 / Published: 2 August 2011 Abstract: Gas hydrate formation processes in porous media are always accompanied by water transfer. To study the transfer characteristics comprehensively, two kinds of layered media consisting of coarse sand and loess were used to form methane hydrate in them. An apparatus with three PF-meter sensors detecting water content and temperature changes in media during the formation processes was applied to study the water transfer characteristics. It was experimentally observed that the hydrate formation configurations in different layered media were similar; however, the water transfer characteristics and water conversion ratios were different. Keywords: methane hydrate; formation; water transfer; layered media 1. Introduction Clathrate hydrates, firstly identified by Sir Humphrey Davy in 1810 [1] are solid, non-stoichiom