Understanding gas
hydrate formation on gas bubbles evolved from
an oil/gas blowout and the stability conditions of the hydrates formed
are key to controlling hydrates during a blowout and its containment.
In this work, methane hydrate formation and dissociation conditions
on suspended gas bubbles in water were studied. For the formation
process, methane gas was gradually injected into a counter flowing
water column until a full hydrate shell on suspended gas bubbles was
observed. The hydrate shells were then dissociated by either depressurization
or heating. The minimum methane concentration to form hydrate shells
on suspended gas bubbles in water was determined for the pressure
range of (7.0 to 17.3) MPa at 277 K. The dissociation pressures of
hydrates are also reported for temperatures from (276 to 286) K. It
is observed that the hydrate shells on gas bubbles formed and remained
stable only when a minimum dissolved concentration (∼0.0013
mole fraction) of gas in water was reached. During dissociation, hydrate
shells showed a unique morphology, ranging from solid shells, broken
shells, plates, and crystals on the surface of the gas bubbles.
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