No abstract

Secondary refrigeration and thermal energy storage are promising solutions to enhance the performance of refrigeration systems and reduce the impact of refrigerants on the environment. To improve the energy efficiency of secondary refrigeration loops, phase change material (PCM) slurries with a high energy density, such as CO 2 hydrate slurries, can be used as a secondary refrigerant. In addition, hydrate based processes could be an innovative option to capture CO 2 from flue gas. In both applications, the rheological properties of the CO 2 hydrate slurry have to be controlled. In the present study, CO 2 hydrate slurry in the presence of Sodium Dodecyl Sulfate (SDS) was studied in a dynamic flow loop. The results show that SDS used at concentrations of 1500 2000 ppm significantly decreases agglomeration and improves the flow properties of the slurry. Moreover, SDS helps decrease the viscosity of the CO 2 hydrate slurry at high fraction (> 10 vol%) and therefore could be suitable for use in industrial applications such as secondary refrigeration, in which hydrate slurries must be easy to handle.

No abstract

No abstract

Assessing the influence of key parameters governing the formation of hydrates and determining the capacity of the latter to store gaseous molecules is needed to improve our understanding of the role of natural gas hydrates in the oceanic methane cycle. Such knowledge will also support the development of new industrial processes and technologies such as those related to thermal energy storage. In this study, high-pressure laboratory methane hydrate formation and dissociation experiments were carried out in a sandy matrix at a temperature around 276.65 K. Methane was continuously injected at constant flowrate to allow hydrate formation over the course of the injection step. The influence of water saturation, methane injection flowrate and particle size on hydrate formation kinetics and methane storage capacity were investigated. Six water saturations (10.8%, 21.6%, 33%, 43.9%, 55% and 66.3%), three gas flowrates (29, 58 and 78 mLn·min−1) and three classes of particle size (80–140, 315–450 and 80–450 µm) were tested, and the resulting data were tabulated. Overall, the measured induction time obtained at 53–57% water saturation has an average value of 58 ± 14 min minutes with clear discrepancies that express the stochastic nature of hydrate nucleation, and/or results from the heterogeneity in the porosity and permeability fields of the sandy core due to heterogeneous particles. Besides, the results emphasize a clear link between the gas injection flowrate and the induction time whatever the particle size and water saturation. An increase in the gas flowrate from 29 to 78 mLn·min−1 is accompanied by a decrease in the induction time up to ~100 min (i.e., ~77% decrease). However, such clear behaviour is less conspicuous when varying either the particle size or the water saturation. Likewise, the volume of hydrate-bound methane increases with increasing water saturation. This study showed that water is not totally converted into hydrates and most of the calculated conversion ratios are around 74–84%, with the lowest value of 49.5% conversion at 54% of water saturation and the highest values of 97.8% for the lowest water saturation (10.8%). Comparison with similar experiments in the literature is also carried out herein.