Research and Development of New Technology Based on Gas Hydrate Method

Natural gas hydrates are ice-like solids composed of water molecules and natural gas (mainly methane), in which the methane molecules are encased in a cage formed by hydrogen bonds of water molecules. During natural gas pipeline transportation, the formation of gas hydrates in the pipeline may cause pipeline blockage, resulting in serious safety hazards. Therefore, the development of efficient hydrate inhibitors has received attention from the oil and gas industry. In addition, with the attention paid by researchers to gas hydrates, new gas storage and separation technologies, seawater desalination technology, and refrigeration technology based on the gas hydrate method have emerged. These new technologies could undoubtedly make up for some shortcomings of traditional technologies, but their technology development is still in its infancy and needs further in-depth research.

The following questions are the priority issues to be addressed in this Research Topic. Firstly, develop low-dosage hydrate inhibitors (including kinetic hydrate inhibitors and anti-agglomerates) and new thermodynamic inhibitors through experimental or molecular simulation methods to alleviate the blockage problem caused by hydrate formation during natural gas pipeline transportation. Secondly, develop an efficient hydrate promoter to solve the problems of slow hydrate formation rate and low water conversion ratio in the gas storage technology based on the hydrate method. For the gas storage/separation technology based on the fixed bed filled with wet materials or the suspensions containing nano-materials, identify the issue of how to select appropriate nano-materials. Finally, reveal the mechanism of hydrate formation and decomposition in complex systems through experiments and molecular simulation techniques.

The Research Topic welcomes both reviews and original research papers. Topics of interest for publication include but are not limited to:
• Development of gas hydrate inhibitor/promoter;
• Gas storage/separation technologies based on the gas hydrate method;
• Seawater desalination technology based on the gas hydrate method;
• Refrigeration technology based on the gas hydrate method;
• Formation/decomposition mechanism of gas hydrate.