Fluid Composition and Kinetics of the in Situ Replacement in CH4–CO2 Hydrate System
The exchange process between CO2 and methane hydrate has been observed in numerous laboratory experiments, computer simulations, and recently confirmed in a field test. Yet, to date there is no kinetic model capable of accurately predicting the swapping process at given fluid composition and p-T con...
| Published in: | The Journal of Physical Chemistry C |
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| Main Authors: | , , , , |
| Format: | Article in Journal/Newspaper |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
ACS
2016
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| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://oceanrep.geomar.de/id/eprint/39339/ https://oceanrep.geomar.de/id/eprint/39339/1/Falenty.pdf https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.jpcc.6b09460 |
| Summary: | The exchange process between CO2 and methane hydrate has been observed in numerous laboratory experiments, computer simulations, and recently confirmed in a field test. Yet, to date there is no kinetic model capable of accurately predicting the swapping process at given fluid composition and p-T conditions. Major obstacles on the way to an adequate mathematical description are caused by the insufficient characterization of experimental environments and a nearly complete lack of information on the time-resolved composition of the two-phase fluid at the gas hydrate interface. Here we show that all necessary data can be provided by a combination of cryo-SEM, Raman, and neutron diffraction measurements that deliver accurate space-averaged, time-resolved in situ data on the CH4–CO2 exchange reactions at conditions relevant to sedimentary matrixes of continental margins. Results from diffraction are cross-correlated with ex situ Raman spectroscopy to provide reliable information on the preferential sites for CO2 and CH4 in the (partially) exchanged hydrate. We also show a novel approach based on scattering of neutrons to probe the fluid composition during the in situ replacement in a time-resolved, noninvasive manner. The replacement is seen as a two-step process including (1) a fast surface reaction parallel to a fast enrichment of the surrounding fluid phase with CH4 followed by (2) a much slower permeation-limited gas swapping between the gas hydrate and mixed ambient CH4–CO2 fluid. The main part of the replacement reaction takes place in the second stage. Based on our earlier experimental studies and existing literature we work toward a quantitative gas exchange model which elaborates the hole-in-cage-wall diffusion mechanism to describe the two-component gas replacement. |
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