Enhanced methane hydrate storage using sodium dodecyl sulfate and coal

• Published in: Environmental Chemistry Letters
• Main Authors: Hao, Shu-Qing, Kim, Sungho, Qin, Yong, Fu, Xue-Hai
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: unknown
• Published: Springer Verlag 2014
• Subjects: 03 Chemical Sciences; 05 Environmental Sciences; 06 Biological Sciences; Coal; Gas storage capacity; Hydrates-forming method; Methane hydrate; Sodium dodecyl sulfate
• Online Access: http://researchonline.federation.edu.au/vital/access/HandleResolver/1959.17/163096; https://doi.org/10.1007/s10311-013-0450-2

A potential solution to reduce global warming is to store greenhouse gases. Greenhouse gas storage has been recently improved using several materials and techniques. However, the actual storage capacity is slow, limited, and costly. Here, we tested the use of an accelerating agent, sodium dodecyl sulfate, and coal to produce methane hydrate for methane storage. Experiments of storing methane gas in coal samples have been carried out under high pressures, 4 or 6 MPa, and low temperature of 273.15 K. Results reveal that sodium dodecyl sulfate improved the rate up to 58.26 cm3/min and the capacity up to 179.97 volume at standard temperature and pressure per unit volume of coal. This finding shows that sodium dodecyl sulfate is efficient to accelerate the formation of methane hydrate. We also found that storage capacity increased with pressure. We conclude that our method allows a gas storage capacity higher than any other medium materials reported previously. © 2013 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg.