Experimental and modeling study of the kinetics of methane hydrate formation and dissociation

In this work, several experiments were conducted at isobaric and isothermal condition in a CSTR reactor to study the kinetics of methane hydrate formation and dissociation. Experiments were performed at five temperatures and three pressure levels (corresponding to equilibrium pressure). Methane hydrate formation and dissociation rates were modeled using mass transfer limited kinetic models and mass transfer coefficients for both formation and dissociation were calculated. Comparison of results, shows that mass transfer coefficients for methane hydrate dissociation are one order greater than formation conditions. Mass transfer coefficients were correlated by polynomials as relations of pressure and temperature. The results and the method can be applied for prediction of methane production from naturally occurring methane hydrate deposits. (C) 2020 The Chemical Industry and Engineering Society of China, and Chemical Industry Press Co., Ltd. All rights reserved.

Automated summary

This study conducted experiments in a CSTR reactor at different temperatures and pressures to investigate the kinetics of methane hydrate formation and dissociation. The results showed that the mass transfer coefficients for methane hydrate dissociation were significantly higher than those for formation. Mathematical modeling can be used to predict methane production from naturally occurring methane hydrate deposits.