Experimental Simulation of the Exploitation of Natural Gas Hydrate

doi:10.3390/en5020466

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Energies 2012, 5(2), 466-493; doi:10.3390/en5020466

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Experimental Simulation of the Exploitation of Natural Gas Hydrate

Bei Liu, Qing Yuan, Ke-Hua Su, Xin Yang, Ben-Cheng Wu, Chang-Yu Sun* and Guang-Jin Chen

State Key Laboratory of Heavy Oil Processing, China University of Petroleum, Beijing 102249, China

* Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.

Received: 20 January 2012; in revised form: 7 February 2012 / Accepted: 8 February 2012 / Published: 22 February 2012

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Natural Gas Hydrate 2011)

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Abstract: Natural gas hydrates are cage-like crystalline compounds in which a large amount of methane is trapped within a crystal structure of water, forming solids at low temperature and high pressure. Natural gas hydrates are widely distributed in permafrost regions and offshore. It is estimated that the worldwide amounts of methane bound in gas hydrates are total twice the amount of carbon to be found in all known fossil fuels on earth. A proper understanding of the relevant exploitation technologies is then important for natural gas production applications. In this paper, the recent advances on the experimental simulation of natural gas hydrate exploitation using the major hydrate production technologies are summarized. In addition, the current situation of the industrial exploitation of natural gas hydrate is introduced, which are expected to be useful for establishing more safe and efficient gas production technologies.

Keywords: natural gas hydrate; exploitation; experimental simulation; depressurization; thermal stimulation; chemical injection

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Cite This Article

MDPI and ACS Style

Liu, B.; Yuan, Q.; Su, K.-H.; Yang, X.; Wu, B.-C.; Sun, C.-Y.; Chen, G.-J. Experimental Simulation of the Exploitation of Natural Gas Hydrate. Energies 2012, 5, 466-493.

AMA Style

Liu B, Yuan Q, Su K-H, Yang X, Wu B-C, Sun C-Y, Chen G-J. Experimental Simulation of the Exploitation of Natural Gas Hydrate. Energies. 2012; 5(2):466-493.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Liu, Bei; Yuan, Qing; Su, Ke-Hua; Yang, Xin; Wu, Ben-Cheng; Sun, Chang-Yu; Chen, Guang-Jin. 2012. "Experimental Simulation of the Exploitation of Natural Gas Hydrate." Energies 5, no. 2: 466-493.

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