Phase behavior and 13C NMR spectroscopic analysis of the mixed methane + ethane + propane hydrates in mesoporous silica gels.

In this study, the phase behavior and quantitative determination of hydrate composition and cage occupancy for the mixed CH(4) + C(2)H(6) + C(3)H(8) hydrates were closely investigated through the experimental measurement of three-phase hydrate (H)-water-rich liquid (L(W))-vapor (V) equilibria and (13)C NMR spectra. To examine the effect of pore size and salinity, we measured hydrate phase equilibria for the quaternary CH(4) (90%) + C(2)H(6) (7%) + C(3)H(8) (3%) + water mixtures in silica gel pores of nominal diameters of 6.0, 15.0, and 30.0 nm and for the quinary CH(4) (90%) + C(2)H(6) (7%) + C(3)H(8) (3%) + NaCl + water mixtures of two different NaCl concentrations (3 and 10 wt %) in silica gel pores of a nominal 30.0 nm diameter. The value of hydrate-water interfacial tension for the CH(4) (90%) + C(2)H(6) (7%) + C(3)H(8) (3%) hydrate was found to be 47 ± 4 mJ/m(2) from the relation of the dissociation temperature depression with the pore size of silica gels at a given pressure. At a specified temperature, three-phase H-L(W)-V equilibrium curves of pore hydrates were shifted to higher pressure regions depending on pore sizes and NaCl concentrations. From the cage-dependent (13)C NMR chemical shifts of enclathrated guest molecules, the mixed CH(4) (90%) + C(2)H(6) (7%) + C(3)H(8) (3%) gas hydrate was confirmed to be structure II. The cage occupancies of each guest molecule and the hydration number of the mixed gas hydrates were also estimated from the (13)C NMR spectra.

Separation of SF6 from gas mixtures using gas hydrate formation.

This study aims to examine the thermodynamic feasibility of separating sulfur hexafluoride (SF(6)), which is widely used in various industrial fields and is one of the most potent greenhouse gases, from gas mixtures using gas hydrate formation. The key process variables of hydrate phase equilibria, pressure-composition diagram, formation kinetics, and structure identification of the mixed gas hydrates, were closely investigated to verify the overall concept of this hydrate-based SF(6) separation process. The three-phase equilibria of hydrate (H), liquid water (L(W)), and vapor (V) for the binary SF(6) + water mixture and for the ternary N(2) + SF(6) + water mixtures with various SF(6) vapor compositions (10, 30, 50, and 70%) were experimentally measured to determine the stability regions and formation conditions of pure and mixed hydrates. The pressure-composition diagram at two different temperatures of 276.15 and 281.15 K was obtained to investigate the actual SF(6) separation efficiency. The vapor phase composition change was monitored during gas hydrate formation to confirm the formation pattern and time needed to reach a state of equilibrium. Furthermore, the structure of the mixed N(2) + SF(6) hydrate was confirmed to be structure II via Raman spectroscopy. Through close examination of the overall experimental results, it was clearly verified that highly concentrated SF(6) can be separated from gas mixtures at mild temperatures and low pressure conditions.

Phase equilibria and thermodynamic modeling of ethane and propane hydrates in porous silica gels.

In the present study, we examined the active role of porous silica gels when used as natural gas storage and transportation media. We adopted the dispersed water in silica gel pores to substantially enhance active surface for contacting and encaging gas molecules. We measured the three-phase hydrate (H)-water-rich liquid (L(W))-vapor (V) equilibria of C(2)H(6) and C(3)H(8) hydrates in 6.0, 15.0, 30.0, and 100.0 nm silica gel pores to investigate the effect of geometrical constraints on gas hydrate phase equilibria. At specified temperatures, the hydrate stability region is shifted to a higher pressure region depending on pore size when compared with those of bulk hydrates. Through application of the Gibbs-Thomson relationship to the experimental data, we determined the values for the C(2)H(6) hydrate-water and C(3)H(8) hydrate-water interfacial tensions to be 39 +/- 2 and 45 +/- 1 mJ/m(2), respectively. By using these values, the calculation values were in good agreement with the experimental ones. The overall results given in this study could also be quite useful in various fields, such as exploitation of natural gas hydrate in marine sediments and sequestration of carbon dioxide into the deep ocean.