Cette étude doctorale a consisté à décrire la dynamique géochimique de deux pockmarks à hydrates de gaz de la marge africaine en considérant deux approches différentes. La première zone d’étude, appelée Preowei, est située au large du Nigéria. Elle est caractérisée par un grand nombre de pockmarks de tailles différentes, plus ou moins proche les uns des autres. Les analyses géochimiques des échantillons de fluides interstitiels, combinées aux données géophysiques (séismiques) ont permis de mieux comprendre le schéma de migration des hydrocarbures pour un ensemble composé de quatre pockmarks très rapprochés. L’utilisation de ces données géochimiques dans un modèle de transport- réaction a conduit à une datation de plusieurs séquences de libération de gaz au sein de ces structures. Un schéma conceptuel décrivant les processus de formation et d’évolution temporelle des pockmarks a été proposé pour synthétiser les conclusions obtenues. Finalement, cette étude a montré que l’ensemble des pockmarks étudiés sont actifs depuis 2700 ans, qu’ils sont en phase de formation d’hydrates pour certains, et de carbonates pour d’autres. La deuxième structure étudiée est le pockmark Regab. Il est situé au large du Gabon, au nord du canyon sous-marin alimenté par le fleuve Congo. Il est caractérisé par la présence d’hydrates affleurant et une faune abondante et très variée sur toute sa surface. L’originalité de ce travail a été d’étudier la distribution de la mégafaune présente sur ce pockmark en fonction de la nature des fluides qui migrent dans le sédiment superficiel, et qui est libérés dans la colonne d’eau. Une attention particulière a été portée au méthane car c’est un élément central dans le cycle énergétique des microorganismes qui vivent en symbiose avec cette mégafaune. Trois nouveaux habitats ont été étudiés. Les données obtenues, associées à celle de la littérature ouverte, renforcent les conclusions des travaux antérieurs. Les Mytilidés ont besoin de très fortes concentrations de méthane pour se développer. Elles colonisent les zones de sortie de bulles et celle caractérisées par des hydrates affleurants. Les tapis bactériens sont associés à des zones où l’oxydation anaérobique du méthane se déroule dans le sédiment superficiel, avec une méthanogenèse dans la couche sous-jacente. Les Vésicomydé polychètes vivent dans des zones pauvres en méthane et sont très sensibles à sa variation de concentration. / The present work describes the dynamics of two pockmark areas, off West Africa. The intention is to propose two different approaches to study the relationships between fluid migration and pockmarks. The first investigated area corresponds to a pockmark cluster called Preowei, located off Nigeria. Geochemical analyses and modeling were combined with seismic data to detail the hydrocarbon migration pattern at this area, with implication on both the pockmark formation and the evolution of their morphology. The proposed interpretation seeks to identify the conceptual bases of pockmark evolution over time at this area. It is argued that the cluster has been active for at least 2700 years, and it is still at the stage of hydrate formation for some pockmarks and carbonate formation for other. The second investigated pockmark, called Regab, is located off Gabon. It is a giant pockmark of 800-m diameter, characterized by an ecosystem rich in fauna, with a large variety of living species. The main core of the work done on this pockmark was focused on finding a link between the fluid chemistry and the spatial distribution of the living communities which populate it. This was achieved by combining new geochemical and bathymetric results with a well-compiled dataset from the literature.

[pt] Os processos de formação e de dissociação de hidratos são de grande interesse nas áreas ambiental e energética. Especificamente para a indústria de petróleo e gás, o hidrato aparece como um empecilho à garantia de escoamento, alavancando ainda mais a necessidade urgente de ampliar o conhecimento sobre seus fenômenos. Neste trabalho, uma nova abordagem para observar e compreender a cinética e as propriedades mecânicas de hidratos por meio da reologia interfacial é apresentada. O conhecido anel du Nouy é empregado com uma nova célula de latão projetada para permitir o necessário gerenciamento da temperatura de teste. Ciclopentano é utilizado como formador de hidrato. Com a nova geometria interfacial, diferentes temperaturas e protocolos de contato água/ciclopentano são explorados. A importância de primeiro provocar o contato do CP com cristais de gelo a fim de iniciar a formação de hidrato é de particular interesse. Assim, time sweeps são realizados em duas etapas: uma para a formação de gelo e outra para os formação de hidrato. Foi determinado que os hidratos de ciclopentano são detectados em temperaturas Tf menor ou igual a 6 graus Celsius. Uma interessante discussão a respeito do estado de metaestabilidade dos hidratos é, então, apresentada. Depois que os hidratos preenchem completamente a interface água/ciclopentano, strain sweeps são realizados para examinar a fragilidade dos filmes de hidrato, medindo os módulos interfaciais elástico e viscoso (G e G). As propriedades mecânicas desses filmes demonstraram uma forte dependência da temperatura (Tf ): o tempo de indução (tc), medido a partir do primeiro contato do ciclopentano com gelo, bem como o módulo elástico (G) e a deformação de escoamento (γy) aumentam conforme Tf é aumentada. / [en] Hydrate formation and dissociation processes are of major interest in environmental and energy fields. Specifically for the oil and gas industry, hydrate appears as an issue regarding flow assurance, pushing even more the urgent need for expanding the knowledge on hydrate phenomena. In the current work, a new approach to observe and understand the kinetics and mechanical properties of hydrates by interfacial rheology is presented. The standard du Nouy ring is employed with a novel brass cell designed to permit the necessary temperature management. Cyclopentane is used as hydrate former. With the new interfacial geometry, different temperature and water/cyclopentane contact protocols are explored. The importance of first contacting CP against ice crystals in order to initiate hydrate formation is of particular interest. Thus, time sweeps are performed in two stages: one for ice formation and another for hydrate formation. It was determined that cyclopentane hydrates only arise at temperatures Tf less than or equal to 6 celsius degree. A worthwhile discussion regarding the hydrate metastability state is then presented. After hydrates completely populate the water/cyclopentane interface, strain sweeps of the interfacial elastic and viscous moduli (G and G) are conducted to examine the fragility of the hydrate films. The mechanical properties of hydrate films demonstrated high dependence on temperature (Tf): the induction time (tc), measured from the moment when cyclopentane first contacts ice, as well as the elastic modulus (G) and the yield strain (γy) increase as Tf is increased.

A composição do clínquer controla a cinética da hidratação do cimento, devido às fases potencialmente mais reativas. O aluminato tricálcico (C3A) é a fase que reage mais rápido quando em contato com a água, formando rapidamente os aluminatos de cálcio hidratado (C3AH6, C4AH19 e C2AH8), com a liberação de elevada quantidade de calor. Para casos práticos, o sulfato de cálcio é adicionado ao clínquer para retardar esta reação. Na presença do sulfato de cálcio, o produto formado da reação com o C3A é o trissulfoaluminato de cálcio hidratado (etringita). Geralmente, a forma cristalina do C3A sintetizado durante o processo de clinquerização é cúbica. No entanto, o íon Na+, pode ser incorporado na estrutura cristalina do C3A, em substituição ao Ca2+, levando à modificação da forma cristalina de cúbica para ortorrômbica. Alguns estudos realizados apresentam interessantes resultados sobre a interferência desta fase modificada na hidratação do cimento, afetando o início de pega e a trabalhabilidade da matriz cimentícia. Os maiores problemas são observados em cimentos Portland branco onde, em função da necessidade de redução da quantidade de ferroaluminato tetracálcico (C4AF), ocorre um incremento na quantidade de C3A. Existe uma grande lacuna referente às características específicas de cada aluminato na ausência e na presença de gipsita e hidróxido de cálcio. Desta forma, mostra-se interessante a observação das características das fases do clínquer, principalmente quando se trata dos aluminatos, visto que este seria um passo importante no entendimento dos problemas de início de pega. O presente estudo utiliza fases puras (C3A cúbico e ortorrômbico) sintetizadas em laboratório, para, desta forma, focar as reações independentemente, isolando-as das demais. A associação de diferentes técnicas que possibilitam avaliar a hidratação in situ, com dois métodos originais de análise, utilizando radiações síncrotron, bem como análise de características reológicas e utilização de técnicas clássicas possibilitaram traçar algumas contribuições. Os resultados mostraram que existem grandes diferenças na hidratação de cada aluminato, sendo o ortorrômbico mais reativo nas primeiras idades quando em presença de gipsita, formando primeiramente a etringita. Na ausência de gipsita, o C3A cúbico se mostrou mais reativo, formando primeiro os aluminatos de cálcio hidratados e com maior liberação de calor. O hidróxido de cálcio, saturando a água da mistura, retardou as reações iniciais do C3A ortorrômbico na ausência de gipsita e, em maiores idades, retardou a formação de etringita em pastas de C3A com gipsita e 10% de hidróxido de cálcio. / The clinker composition controls the kinetics of cement hydration mainly due to the presence of potentially more reactive phases. The reaction of tricalcium aluminate C3A with water is almost immediate. Crystalline hydrates, such as C3AH6, C4AH19 and C2AH8 are quickly formed with generation of a large amount of heat. In presence of calcium sulfate, the product formed from the C3A reaction is ettringite or high-sulfate calcium aluminate. The alkalis can be incorporated into a number of phases in the clinker and often Na2O is taken up by the C3A. When C3A is synthesized in the presence of these elements, it changes its crystal lattice and the formation of the orthorhombic phases occurs. Earlier studies have already shown interesting interference from this phase on the cement hydration. Significant problems are found in white Portland cement, where the necessity of reducing the amount of tetracalcium ferroaluminate (C4AF) leads to an increase of the C3A content. There is a large gap in understanding the specific characteristics of each crystalline form of C3A in presence and absence of gypsum and calcium hydroxide. Therefore, characterization of the cement phases is important, especially when it is related to the aluminates (cubic and orthorhombic), since this would be a step to further understand the setting problems. The present study uses pure phases (cubic and orthorhombic C3A) synthesized in laboratory, to focus on the reactions independently, isolating the reactions of the others phases. The experimental research integrated two different synchrotron radiation techniques that enable the study of the hydration in situ with rheological analysis and classical techniques allowing to obtain contributions in the hydration of each C3A. The results showed that there are significant differences in the hydration of each aluminate, and the orthorhombic C3A is more reactive in early ages when in presence of gypsum, by forming ettringite first. In absence of gypsum the cubic C3A was more reactive, forming first calcium aluminates hydrates and generating a higher amount of heat. The ettringite formation and the heat evolution of pastes in presence and absence of gypsum were delayed when calcium hydroxide was present in the mixture.

A composição do clínquer controla a cinética da hidratação do cimento, devido às fases potencialmente mais reativas. O aluminato tricálcico (C3A) é a fase que reage mais rápido quando em contato com a água, formando rapidamente os aluminatos de cálcio hidratado (C3AH6, C4AH19 e C2AH8), com a liberação de elevada quantidade de calor. Para casos práticos, o sulfato de cálcio é adicionado ao clínquer para retardar esta reação. Na presença do sulfato de cálcio, o produto formado da reação com o C3A é o trissulfoaluminato de cálcio hidratado (etringita). Geralmente, a forma cristalina do C3A sintetizado durante o processo de clinquerização é cúbica. No entanto, o íon Na+, pode ser incorporado na estrutura cristalina do C3A, em substituição ao Ca2+, levando à modificação da forma cristalina de cúbica para ortorrômbica. Alguns estudos realizados apresentam interessantes resultados sobre a interferência desta fase modificada na hidratação do cimento, afetando o início de pega e a trabalhabilidade da matriz cimentícia. Os maiores problemas são observados em cimentos Portland branco onde, em função da necessidade de redução da quantidade de ferroaluminato tetracálcico (C4AF), ocorre um incremento na quantidade de C3A. Existe uma grande lacuna referente às características específicas de cada aluminato na ausência e na presença de gipsita e hidróxido de cálcio. Desta forma, mostra-se interessante a observação das características das fases do clínquer, principalmente quando se trata dos aluminatos, visto que este seria um passo importante no entendimento dos problemas de início de pega. O presente estudo utiliza fases puras (C3A cúbico e ortorrômbico) sintetizadas em laboratório, para, desta forma, focar as reações independentemente, isolando-as das demais. A associação de diferentes técnicas que possibilitam avaliar a hidratação in situ, com dois métodos originais de análise, utilizando radiações síncrotron, bem como análise de características reológicas e utilização de técnicas clássicas possibilitaram traçar algumas contribuições. Os resultados mostraram que existem grandes diferenças na hidratação de cada aluminato, sendo o ortorrômbico mais reativo nas primeiras idades quando em presença de gipsita, formando primeiramente a etringita. Na ausência de gipsita, o C3A cúbico se mostrou mais reativo, formando primeiro os aluminatos de cálcio hidratados e com maior liberação de calor. O hidróxido de cálcio, saturando a água da mistura, retardou as reações iniciais do C3A ortorrômbico na ausência de gipsita e, em maiores idades, retardou a formação de etringita em pastas de C3A com gipsita e 10% de hidróxido de cálcio. / The clinker composition controls the kinetics of cement hydration mainly due to the presence of potentially more reactive phases. The reaction of tricalcium aluminate C3A with water is almost immediate. Crystalline hydrates, such as C3AH6, C4AH19 and C2AH8 are quickly formed with generation of a large amount of heat. In presence of calcium sulfate, the product formed from the C3A reaction is ettringite or high-sulfate calcium aluminate. The alkalis can be incorporated into a number of phases in the clinker and often Na2O is taken up by the C3A. When C3A is synthesized in the presence of these elements, it changes its crystal lattice and the formation of the orthorhombic phases occurs. Earlier studies have already shown interesting interference from this phase on the cement hydration. Significant problems are found in white Portland cement, where the necessity of reducing the amount of tetracalcium ferroaluminate (C4AF) leads to an increase of the C3A content. There is a large gap in understanding the specific characteristics of each crystalline form of C3A in presence and absence of gypsum and calcium hydroxide. Therefore, characterization of the cement phases is important, especially when it is related to the aluminates (cubic and orthorhombic), since this would be a step to further understand the setting problems. The present study uses pure phases (cubic and orthorhombic C3A) synthesized in laboratory, to focus on the reactions independently, isolating the reactions of the others phases. The experimental research integrated two different synchrotron radiation techniques that enable the study of the hydration in situ with rheological analysis and classical techniques allowing to obtain contributions in the hydration of each C3A. The results showed that there are significant differences in the hydration of each aluminate, and the orthorhombic C3A is more reactive in early ages when in presence of gypsum, by forming ettringite first. In absence of gypsum the cubic C3A was more reactive, forming first calcium aluminates hydrates and generating a higher amount of heat. The ettringite formation and the heat evolution of pastes in presence and absence of gypsum were delayed when calcium hydroxide was present in the mixture.

Petrobrás / Hidratos são estruturas cristalinas constituídas por moléculas de água e gás ou líquido, sendo que a estabilização dessa estrutura cristalina requer condições de altas pressões e/ou baixas temperaturas. A formação e a aglomeração de hidratos podem causar o bloqueio de linhas de transporte de óleo e/ou gás, reduzindo a eficiência do processo, danificando os equipamentos e comprometendo a segurança da parte operacional. Neste cenário, no presente trabalho é apresentado o estudo numérico-experimental de equilíbrio de fases dos hidratos para identificar as regiões de formação e adequar as condições de operação na indústria petrolífera. Para a predição das condições de formação dos hidratos é desenvolvido um modelo termodinâmico baseado na teoria de sólido ideal de van der Waals e Platteeuw. O modelo é fundamentado na igualdade dos potenciais químicos de todas as espécies em todas as fases (água líquida, hidrato e vapor). Para os cálculos de equilíbrio da fase hidrocarboneto foi utilizada a equação de estado de Soave Redlich-Kwong e o método da secante foi utilizado para solucionar o modelo iterativamente. As medidas experimentais foram realizadas utilizando metano puro e a mistura metano (90 % em mol) e dióxido de carbono e os testes foram realizados em duas bancadas distintas, sendo os procedimentos realizados semelhantes, baseados no método isocórico pela monitoração da resposta da pressão do sistema com a variação da temperatura. Os resultados experimentais e numéricos obtidos foram comparados com dados da literatura com a finalidade de validar o modelo termodinâmico proposto, o aparato experimental e o procedimento adotado. O erro absoluto máximo entre os resultados obtidos experimentalmente e do modelo termodinâmico desenvolvido foi de 0,57%. Desta forma, nota-se os resultados apresentaram boa concordância entre os dados experimentais e os da modelagem numérica. / Hydrates are crystalline structures composed by molecules of water or liquid and gas, and the crystal structure that requires stabilization conditions of high pressure and/or low temperatures. The formation and agglomeration of hydrates can cause blockage of transmission lines oil and / or gas, reducing process efficiency, damaging the equipment and compromise the safety of the operating part. In this scenario, in this paper the numerical-experimental study of phase equilibria of hydrates is presented to identify the regions of formation and adjust the operating conditions in the oil industry. To predict hydrate formation conditions of a thermodynamic model based on the ideal solid solution theory by van der Waals and Platteeuw is developed. The model is based on the equality of the chemical potentials of all species in all phases (liquid water, vapor and hydrate). The SoaveRedlich-Kwong equation of state was employed for the phase equilibrium properties of the hydrocarbon fluid phase and the secant method was used to solve the model iteratively. Experimental measurements were performed using pure methane and methane mixture (90 mol%) and carbon dioxide, and the tests were performed on two separate stands, and similar procedures performed based on the isochoric method by monitoring the pressure response of the system with changes in the temperature. The experimental and numerical results were compared with literature data in order to validate the proposed thermodynamic model, the experimental apparatus and procedure adopted. The maximum absolute error between the experimental results and thermodynamic model was 0.57%. Thus, the results showed good agreement between experimental data and numerical modeling.

A composição do clínquer controla a cinética da hidratação do cimento, devido às fases potencialmente mais reativas. O aluminato tricálcico (C3A) é a fase que reage mais rápido quando em contato com a água, formando rapidamente os aluminatos de cálcio hidratado (C3AH6, C4AH19 e C2AH8), com a liberação de elevada quantidade de calor. Para casos práticos, o sulfato de cálcio é adicionado ao clínquer para retardar esta reação. Na presença do sulfato de cálcio, o produto formado da reação com o C3A é o trissulfoaluminato de cálcio hidratado (etringita). Geralmente, a forma cristalina do C3A sintetizado durante o processo de clinquerização é cúbica. No entanto, o íon Na+, pode ser incorporado na estrutura cristalina do C3A, em substituição ao Ca2+, levando à modificação da forma cristalina de cúbica para ortorrômbica. Alguns estudos realizados apresentam interessantes resultados sobre a interferência desta fase modificada na hidratação do cimento, afetando o início de pega e a trabalhabilidade da matriz cimentícia. Os maiores problemas são observados em cimentos Portland branco onde, em função da necessidade de redução da quantidade de ferroaluminato tetracálcico (C4AF), ocorre um incremento na quantidade de C3A. Existe uma grande lacuna referente às características específicas de cada aluminato na ausência e na presença de gipsita e hidróxido de cálcio. Desta forma, mostra-se interessante a observação das características das fases do clínquer, principalmente quando se trata dos aluminatos, visto que este seria um passo importante no entendimento dos problemas de início de pega. O presente estudo utiliza fases puras (C3A cúbico e ortorrômbico) sintetizadas em laboratório, para, desta forma, focar as reações independentemente, isolando-as das demais. A associação de diferentes técnicas que possibilitam avaliar a hidratação in situ, com dois métodos originais de análise, utilizando radiações síncrotron, bem como análise de características reológicas e utilização de técnicas clássicas possibilitaram traçar algumas contribuições. Os resultados mostraram que existem grandes diferenças na hidratação de cada aluminato, sendo o ortorrômbico mais reativo nas primeiras idades quando em presença de gipsita, formando primeiramente a etringita. Na ausência de gipsita, o C3A cúbico se mostrou mais reativo, formando primeiro os aluminatos de cálcio hidratados e com maior liberação de calor. O hidróxido de cálcio, saturando a água da mistura, retardou as reações iniciais do C3A ortorrômbico na ausência de gipsita e, em maiores idades, retardou a formação de etringita em pastas de C3A com gipsita e 10% de hidróxido de cálcio. / The clinker composition controls the kinetics of cement hydration mainly due to the presence of potentially more reactive phases. The reaction of tricalcium aluminate C3A with water is almost immediate. Crystalline hydrates, such as C3AH6, C4AH19 and C2AH8 are quickly formed with generation of a large amount of heat. In presence of calcium sulfate, the product formed from the C3A reaction is ettringite or high-sulfate calcium aluminate. The alkalis can be incorporated into a number of phases in the clinker and often Na2O is taken up by the C3A. When C3A is synthesized in the presence of these elements, it changes its crystal lattice and the formation of the orthorhombic phases occurs. Earlier studies have already shown interesting interference from this phase on the cement hydration. Significant problems are found in white Portland cement, where the necessity of reducing the amount of tetracalcium ferroaluminate (C4AF) leads to an increase of the C3A content. There is a large gap in understanding the specific characteristics of each crystalline form of C3A in presence and absence of gypsum and calcium hydroxide. Therefore, characterization of the cement phases is important, especially when it is related to the aluminates (cubic and orthorhombic), since this would be a step to further understand the setting problems. The present study uses pure phases (cubic and orthorhombic C3A) synthesized in laboratory, to focus on the reactions independently, isolating the reactions of the others phases. The experimental research integrated two different synchrotron radiation techniques that enable the study of the hydration in situ with rheological analysis and classical techniques allowing to obtain contributions in the hydration of each C3A. The results showed that there are significant differences in the hydration of each aluminate, and the orthorhombic C3A is more reactive in early ages when in presence of gypsum, by forming ettringite first. In absence of gypsum the cubic C3A was more reactive, forming first calcium aluminates hydrates and generating a higher amount of heat. The ettringite formation and the heat evolution of pastes in presence and absence of gypsum were delayed when calcium hydroxide was present in the mixture.

Considerable research has been done to improve hydrate formation rate. One of the ideas is to introduce mechanical mixing which later tend to complicate the design and operation of the hydrate formation processes. Another approach is to add surfactant (promoter) that will improve the hydrate formation rate and also its storage capacity to be closer to the maximum hydrate storage capacity. Surfactant is widely known as a substance that can lower the surface or interfacial tension of the water when it is dissolved in it. Surfactants are known to increase gas hydrate formation rate, increase storage capacity of hydrates and also decrease induction time. However, the role that surfactant plays in hydrate crystal formation is not well understood. Therefore, understanding of the mechanism through morphology studies is one of the important aspects to be studied so that optimal industrial processes can be designed. In the present study the effect of three commercially available anionic surfactants which differ in its alkyl chain length on the formation/dissociation of hydrate from a gas mixture of 90.5 % methane – 9.5% propane mixture was investigated. The surfactants used were sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS), sodium tetradecyl sulfate (STS), and sodium hexadecyl sulfate (SHS). Memory water was used and the experiments for SDS were carried out at three different degrees of under-cooling and three different surfactant concentrations. In addition, the effect of the surfactant on storage capacity of gas into hydrate was assessed. The morphology of the growing crystals and the gas consumption were observed during the experiments. The results show that branches of porous fibre-like crystals are formed instead of dendritic crystals in the absence of any additive. In addition, extensive hydrate crystal growth on the crystallizer walls is observed. Also a “mushy” hydrate instead of a thin crystal film appears at the gas/water interface. Finally, the addition of SDS with concentration range between 242ppm – 2200ppm (ΔT =13.10C) was found to increase the mole consumption for hydrate formation by 14.3 – 18.7 times. This increase is related to the change in hydrate morphology whereby a more porous hydrate forms with enhanced water/gas contacts. / Applied Science, Faculty of / Chemical and Biological Engineering, Department of / Graduate

The first project in this work used classical molecular dynamics to study the ice recrystallization inhibition potential of a series of carbohydrates and alcochols, using the hydration index, partial molar volumes and isothermal compressibilities as parameters for measuring their cryogenic efficacy. Unfortunately, after 8 months of testing, this work demonstrates that the accuracy and precision of the density extracted from simulations is not sufficient in providing accurate partial molar volumes. As a result, this work clearly demonstrates that current classical molecular dynamics technology cannot probe the volumetric properties of interest with sufficient accuracy to aid in the research and development of novel cryoprotectants.The second project in this work used molecular dynamics simulations to evaluate the Gibbs free energy change of substituting CO2 in sI clathrate hydrates by N2,CH4, SO2 and H2S flue gas impurities under conditions proposed for CO2 capture (273 K, 10 bar). Our results demonstrate that CO2 substitutions by N2 in the small sI cages were thermodynamically favored. This substitution is problematic in terms of efficient CO2 capture, since the small cages make up 25% of the sI clathrate cages, therefore a significant amount of energy could be spent on removing N2 from the flue gas rather than CO2. The thermodynamics of CO2 substitution by CH4, SO2 and H2S in sI clathrate hydrates was also examined. The substitution of CO2 by these gases in both the small and large cages were determined to be favorable. This suggests that these gases may also disrupt the CO2 capture by sI clathrate hydrates if they are present in large concentrations in the combustion flue stream. Similar substitution thermodynamics at 200 K and 10 bar were also studied. With one exception, we found that the substitution free energies do not significantly change and do not alter the sign of thermodynamics. Thus, using a lower capture temperature does not significantly change the substitution free energies and their implications for CO2 capture by sI clathrate hydrates.

Research into hydrate production technologies has increased in the past years. While many technologies have been presented, there is no consensus on which reactor design is best for each potential application. A direct experimental comparison of hydrate production technologies has been carried out in between a variety of reactor configurations at similar driving force conditions. Three main reactor types were used: a stirred tank, a fixed bed and a bubble column and compared different phase contacting patterns for the stirred tank and bubble column. In the initial phase of hydrate formation in a stirred tank, formation was mass and heat transfer limited at the lower stirring speed, and heat transfer limited at the higher stirring speed. After more than 10% of the water had been converted to hydrate, formation was mass transfer limited regardless of the other conditions. Neither the use of a gas inducing impeller, nor a 10 wt% particle slurry significantly affected hydrate formation rates; however, the particle slurry did lower the induction time. Due to the poor scale-up of impeller power consumption in a stirred tank, a semi-batch fixed bed was studied since it does not require any power input for mixing. The significantly slower rates of formation observed in the semi-batch fixed bed, as well as the lost reactor capacity to particles, mean that this type of system would require a much larger reactor. Faster volume and power normalized rates of hydrate formation were observed in the bubble column than in a stirred tank at similar mass transfer driving force conditions. Higher conversions of water to hydrate were observed in the bubble column because mixing was accomplished by bubbling gas from the bottom rather than by an impeller. The highest conversions of water and gas were achieved during a later stage of accelerated hydrate formation, indicating an optimal hydrate fraction for continuously operated bubble column reactors. The second stage of hydrate formation occurred more frequently at higher gas flowratess. Therefore, the increased water conversion and single-pass gas conversion justify the increased energy input required by the higher gas flowrate. Balancing the rates of mass transfer and heat removal was also critical for optimal bubble column as insufficient mass transfer would result in a lower rate of formation and insufficient heat transfer would cause previously formed hydrates to dissociate. The addition of 10wt% glass beads to the reactor promoted hydrate formation; however, it did not do so sufficiently to make up for the loss in reactor capacity or the increased energy requirement.

No description available.