Self-preservation of methane hydrates produced in “dry water”

Abstract

The first results of studying the possibility of self-preservation of methane hydrates produced in a “dry-water” dispersion were presented. It was shown for the first time that the anomalously low rates of dissociation of gas hydrates at a temperature below 273 K and a pressure of 0.1 MPa, which were previously known for methane hydrates, are also characteristic of methane hydrates forming in dry water. Methane hydrates obtained in dry water containing no more than 5 wt % stabilizer (hydrophobized silica nanoparticles) are primarily solids at a pressure of 0.1 MPa and a temperature below 273 K. At a stabilizer content of dry water of 10 or 15 wt %, a significant part of the hydrate sample looks like a free-flowing powder. The powder fraction increases with increasing stabilizer content, which reduces the efficiency of self-preservation of methane hydrates.