The influence of temperature, pressure, salinity and capillary force on the formation of methane hydrate

Duan, Zhenhao; Li, Ding; Chen, Yali; Sun, Rui

doi:10.1016/j.gsf.2011.03.009

Cited by 32 publications

(27 citation statements)

References 95 publications

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“…These measurement errors are symmetrically distributed around CSMHyd's predictions, and therefore may be averaged out [112]. Moreover, a divergence of the predicted and modeled values appears to be associated with larger temperatures and pressures than considered in this study (e.g., Figure 4 in [113]). In addition, the reliability of CSMHyd predictions was verified in a variety of studies, by their correlation with geophysical, well-log, and experimental results (e.g., [111,112,[114][115][116][117][118]).…”

Section: Model Sensitivitiesmentioning

confidence: 75%

Methane Hydrate Stability and Potential Resource in the Levant Basin, Southeastern Mediterranean Sea

et al. 2019

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To estimate the potential inventory of natural gas hydrates (NGH) in the Levant Basin, southeastern Mediterranean Sea, we correlated the gas hydrate stability zone (GHSZ), modeled with local thermodynamic parameters, with seismic indicators of gas. A compilation of the oceanographic measurements defines the >1 km deep water temperature and salinity to 13.8 °C and 38.8‰ respectively, predicting the top GHSZ at a water depth of ~1250 m. Assuming sub-seafloor hydrostatic pore-pressure, water-body salinity, and geothermal gradients ranging between 20 to 28.5 °C/km, yields a useful first-order GHSZ approximation. Our model predicts that the entire northwestern half of the Levant seafloor lies within the GHSZ, with a median sub-seafloor thickness of ~150 m. High amplitude seismic reflectivity (HASR), correlates with the active seafloor gas seepage and is distributed across the deep-sea fan of the Nile within the Levant Basin. Trends observed in the distribution of the HASR are suggested to represent: (1) Shallow gas and possibly hydrates within buried channel-lobe systems 25 to 100 mbsf; and (2) a regionally discontinuous bottom simulating reflection (BSR) broadly matching the modeled base of GHSZ. We therefore estimate the potential methane hydrates resources within the Levant Basin at ~100 trillion cubic feet (Tcf) and its carbon content at ~1.5 gigatonnes.

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Section: Model Sensitivitiesmentioning

confidence: 75%

Methane Hydrate Stability and Potential Resource in the Levant Basin, Southeastern Mediterranean Sea

et al. 2019

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“…Saline pore waters exercise an inhibitory effect that shifts the standard P‐T curve for methane hydrate to lower temperatures (De Roo et al, 1983; Dickens & Quinby‐Hunt, 1994; Liu & Flemings, 2006; Maekawa, 2001; Ruppel et al, 2005; Sloan & Koh, 2007), reducing the region of hydrate stability. Elevated capillary pressures in fine‐grained sediments also inhibit hydrate formation (Clennell et al, 1999; Duan et al, 2011; Henry et al, 1999; Liu & Flemings, 2011), although the scarcity of free water (low activity of water) in such low‐permeability media may dominate the inhibitory effect in these sediments (e.g., Liu & Flemings, 2007).…”

Section: Gas Hydrate Backgroundmentioning

confidence: 99%

Timescales and Processes of Methane Hydrate Formation and Breakdown, With Application to Geologic Systems

Ruppel

Waite

2020

JGR Solid Earth

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Gas hydrate is an ice‐like form of water and low molecular weight gas stable at temperatures of roughly −10°C to 25°C and pressures of ~3 to 30 MPa in geologic systems. Natural gas hydrates sequester an estimated one sixth of Earth's methane and are found primarily in deepwater marine sediments on continental margins, but also in permafrost areas and under continental ice sheets. When gas hydrate is removed from its stability field, its breakdown has implications for the global carbon cycle, ocean chemistry, marine geohazards, and interactions between the geosphere and the ocean‐atmosphere system. Gas hydrate breakdown can also be artificially driven as a component of studies assessing the resource potential of these deposits. Furthermore, geologic processes and perturbations to the ocean‐atmosphere system (e.g., warming temperatures) can cause not only dissociation, but also more widespread dissolution of hydrate or even formation of new hydrate in reservoirs. Linkages between gas hydrate and disparate aspects of Earth's near‐surface physical, chemical, and biological systems render an assessment of the rates and processes affecting the persistence of gas hydrate an appropriate Centennial Grand Challenge. This paper reviews the thermodynamic controls on methane hydrate stability and then describes the relative importance of kinetic, mass transfer, and heat transfer processes in the formation and breakdown (dissociation and dissolution) of gas hydrate. Results from numerical modeling, laboratory, and some field studies are used to summarize the rates of hydrate formation and breakdown, followed by an extensive treatment of hydrate dynamics in marine and cryospheric gas hydrate systems.

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“…Gas hydrates may contain methane, ethane, propane or butane, though methane hydrate is the most common that occurs naturally. Potentially large quantities of gas hydrates are available-for example, 1 m 3 methane hydrate can yield 164 m 3 methane gas (Makogon et al, 2007;Duan et al, 2011) but commercial extraction of natural gas has not yet taken place because the process is technologically complex and costly. Estimates of the global mass of marine methane hydrates vary: Piñero et al (2013) estimate in the region of 550 Gt C, but Kretschmer et al (2015) suggests the higher figure of 1,146 Gt C. Reserves of gas hydrates are widely distributed and ∼220 deposits have been identified across the globe in the sediment of marine continental slopes and rises and on land beneath polar permafrost; continental shelf margins contain 95% of all methane hydrate deposits in the world (Demirbas, 2010;Chong et al, 2016).…”

Section: Gas Hydratesmentioning

confidence: 99%

An Overview of Seabed Mining Including the Current State of Development, Environmental Impacts, and Knowledge Gaps

et al. 2018

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Rising demand for minerals and metals, including for use in the technology sector, has led to a resurgence of interest in exploration of mineral resources located on the seabed. Such resources, whether seafloor massive (polymetallic) sulfides around hydrothermal vents, cobalt-rich crusts (CRCs) on the flanks of seamounts or fields of manganese (polymetallic) nodules on the abyssal plains, cannot be considered in isolation of the distinctive, in some cases unique, assemblages of marine species associated with the same habitats and structures. In addition to mineral deposits, there is interest in extracting methane from gas hydrates on continental slopes and rises. Many of the regions identified for future seabed mining are already recognized as vulnerable marine ecosystems (VMEs). Since its inception in 1982, the International Seabed Authority (ISA), charged with regulating human activities on the deep-sea floor beyond the continental shelf, has issued 27 contracts for mineral exploration, encompassing a combined area of more than 1.4 million km 2 , and continues to develop rules for commercial mining. At the same time, some seabed mining operations are already taking place within continental shelf areas of nation states, generally at relatively shallow depths, and with others at advanced stages of planning. The first commercial enterprise, expected to target mineral-rich sulfides in deeper waters, at depths between 1,500 and 2,000 m on the continental shelf of Papua New Guinea, is scheduled to begin early in 2019. In this review, we explore three broad aspects relating to the exploration and exploitation of seabed mineral resources: (1) the current state of development of such activities in areas both within and beyond national jurisdictions, (2) possible environmental impacts both close to and more distant from mining activities and (3) the uncertainties and gaps in scientific knowledge and understanding which render baseline and impact assessments particularly difficult for the deep sea. We also consider whether there are alternative approaches to the management of existing mineral reserves and resources, which may reduce incentives for seabed mining.

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The influence of temperature, pressure, salinity and capillary force on the formation of methane hydrate

Cited by 32 publications

References 95 publications

Methane Hydrate Stability and Potential Resource in the Levant Basin, Southeastern Mediterranean Sea

Methane Hydrate Stability and Potential Resource in the Levant Basin, Southeastern Mediterranean Sea

Timescales and Processes of Methane Hydrate Formation and Breakdown, With Application to Geologic Systems

An Overview of Seabed Mining Including the Current State of Development, Environmental Impacts, and Knowledge Gaps

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