Laboratory for Continuous Production of Natural Gas Hydrates

Abstract

A bstract : Natural gas hydrate technology is an attractive alternative for storing and transporting natural gas. A high‐pressure laboratory has been built to provide experimental data for use in the design and development of hydrate‐based processes for the oil and gas industry. In the laboratory, hydrate is produced from liquid water‐and water‐in‐oil emulsions‐and injected natural gas mixtures. The hydrate reactor and circulation loop can operate at pressures up to 120 bar and constant temperatures in the range 0–20°C. The hydrate slurry produced can be circulated at up to 100 liter/minute through 4‐m long pipes equipped with differential pressure transducers and flow meters to determine their rheological characteristics under laminar and turbulent flow conditions. The laboratory can also be used for various flow assurance studies.