Академический Документы
Профессиональный Документы
Культура Документы
a r t i c l e
i n f o
Article history:
Received 27 May 2015
Received in revised form 13 July 2015
Accepted 17 August 2015
Available online 30 September 2015
Keywords:
Methane hydrate
Combined method
Conduction
Convection
Injection temperature
Heat transfer
a b s t r a c t
Heat transfer affects the pressure and temperature distributions of hydrate sediments, thereby controlling hydrate dissociation. Therefore, its study is essential for planning hydrate exploitation. Previously,
a two-dimensional axisymmetric model, to investigate the influence of heat transfer on hydrate exploitation from hydrate-bearing sediments, was developed and verified. Here, we extended our investigation to
the influence of heat transfer on methane gas production using a combined method coupling depressurization and thermal stimulation. Our simulations showed that during decomposition by the combined
method, a high specific heat capacity of the hydrate-bearing porous media or a high initial water content
could inhibit gas generation. However, the initial water content had only a weak influence on the cumulative gas production and generation rate. The influence of water and methane heat convection was also
weak. An increase of the thermal conductivity initially inhibited hydrate dissociation but later promoted
it. The implementation of the combined method increased gas generation compared with using only thermal stimulation. However, the benefits gradually diminished with an increasing heat injection
temperature.
2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
1. Introduction
Worldwide, a large volume of hydrates can be found beneath
the sea and in permafrost sediments [1]. Considering their potential as energy resources, the development of safe and efficient
methods for gas extraction from gas hydrate sediments has
become a widespread aim. At present, different methods for
exploitation have been proposed, typically based on the disruption
of thermodynamic equilibrium by depressurization [25], thermal
stimulation [68], or a combined method [9,10].
For a safe and effective exploitation of hydrates and to avoid the
limitations and disadvantages of a single approach, methods combining multiple techniques have recently been developed. Liu et al.
[11] developed a one-dimensional mathematical model to predict
hydrate decomposition in hydrate sediments via depressurization
and thermal stimulation. Their simulations showed that thermal
stimulation at constant temperature plays a limited role in hydrate
exploitation compared with depressurization. Li et al. [12] conducted an experimental study to investigate whether the combination of thermal stimulation and depressurization was propitious to
natural gas hydrate dissociation and their results suggested that
such combination could achieve a higher energy efficiency. Bai
Corresponding author. Tel./fax: +86 411 84706722.
E-mail address: jfzhao@dlut.edu.cn (J. Zhao).
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.ijheatmasstransfer.2015.08.102
0017-9310/ 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
Y. Song et al. / International Journal of Heat and Mass Transfer 92 (2016) 766773
767
Fig. 1. Scheme of the computational hydrate core sample adapted from previous work [1721].
Fig. 2. Cumulative gas production over time for different stimulation temperatures. The thermal stimulation and combined methods were compared for different
temperatures.
water, and hydrate) and three phases (gas, liquid, and solid) were
represented in the models. Equations for the mass conservation,
energy conversion, reaction kinetics, motion, and state of the three
components were used to simulate hydrate dissociation from
hydrate reservoirs. In the model, the core was immersed in a water
bath, with an outlet valve located on the left side of the core. The
walls and the right side of the core were considered no-slip boundaries (Fig. 1). Free convection heat transfer was assumed between
the circular wall and the surroundings. Adiabatic boundary conditions were imposed at the ends of the core. These conditions were
Fig. 3. (a) Gas generation rate and (b) cumulative gas production over time for different core specific heat capacities (Cps): 0, 0.8, and 1.6 kJ/(kg K).
768
Y. Song et al. / International Journal of Heat and Mass Transfer 92 (2016) 766773
Fig. 4. Simulated core temperatures after 3 min for core specific heat capacities (Cps) of (a) 0.0, (b) 0.8, and (c) 1.6 kJ/(kgK).
0 6 r 6 R; 0 6 x 6 L
where T is the temperature, P is the pressure, Sh is the hydrate saturation, Sw is the water saturation, and Sg is the gas saturation. The
subscript 0 indicates the initial conditions. R, r, x, and L correspond
to the core radius, the variable of core radius, the variable of core
length and core length, respectively.
The following boundary conditions were imposed:
P P0 x 0; @P=@x 0 x L; @P=@r 0 r 0; R0 ;
@T=@r 0 r 0; and @T=@x 0 x 0; L:
The specific heat capacity (Cps) of the core material was
assigned as 0, 0.8, or 1.6 kJ/(kgK), which reflects values for typical
sand and sandy clay soils ranging from 0.83 to 1.38 kJ/(kgK). The
thermal conductivity (ks) of the core material was assumed as 1.5
or 8 W/(mK), which is similar to the thermal conductivities
of vitreous silica and quartz [23], respectively. The convection
heat transfer of water (nw) and gas (ng) controls the relative
permeability of water (k rw ) and gas (krg ) expressed as
krw Sw =Sw Sg Swr =1 Swr Sgr ^ nw and krg Sg =Sw
Sg Sgr =1 Swr Sgr ^ ng , respectively, where Swr is the
relative water saturation and Sgr is the relative gas saturation. For
the basic case, low relative gas permeability, and high relative
water permeability, we set nw = 4 and ng = 2, nw = 4 and ng = 4,
and nw = 2 and ng = 2, respectively.
3. Results and discussion
Although it is not essential to heat the sediments during
hydrate decomposition by depressurization, it takes a longer time
to achieve complete dissociation. It takes less time to complete
hydrate decomposition by thermal stimulation, however, energy
conservation requires the injection of additional heat in the core.
Therefore, a method combining depressurization and thermal
stimulation has been proposed for hydrate dissociation, for which
a correct choice of the injection temperature and outlet pressure
requires the study of heat transfer during its application.
3.1. The role of temperature stimulation
In simulations of the combined method, the curves of cumulative gas production in real-time increased with increasing temperature, with the increased gas production rates resulting in a faster
complete reaction (Fig. 2). The same was observed in the curves of
Y. Song et al. / International Journal of Heat and Mass Transfer 92 (2016) 766773
769
Fig. 5. (a) Gas generation rate and (b) cumulative gas production over time for different initial water saturations (Sw): 0.28, 0.35, and 0.42.
Fig. 6. (a) Gas generation rate and (b) cumulative gas production over time for different core thermal conductivities (ks): 1.5 and 8.0 W/(mK).
770
Y. Song et al. / International Journal of Heat and Mass Transfer 92 (2016) 766773
Fig. 7. Simulated hydrate saturation (Sh) after 3 min for core thermal conductivities (ks) of (a) 1.5 and (b) 8 W/(mK). Simulated temperature (T) distribution after 3 min for ks
of (c) 1.5 and (d) 8 W/(mK).
all cases, i.e., the differences in Cps had little influence on the ultimate cumulative gas production (Fig. 3(b)). In contrast, the gas
production rates were clearly different, with a low Cps resulting
in rapid gas production in the initial dissociation stage (<3 min),
remaining stable for some time, and then quickly decreasing. Conversely, in the high Cps simulation, it took longer to reach the maximum gas generation rate, which remained maximized only for a
Y. Song et al. / International Journal of Heat and Mass Transfer 92 (2016) 766773
771
Fig. 8. Simulated hydrate saturation (Sh) distribution after 18 min for core thermal conductivities (ks) of (a) 1.5 and (b) 8 W/(mK). Simulated temperature (T) distribution
after 18 min for ks of (c) 1.5 and (d) 8 W/(mK).
Fig. 4(a) was the highest among the three cases, while in Fig. 4(b) it
was generally higher than in Fig. 4(c). The area of low temperature
was largest in Fig. 4(c). These results suggest that increasing the Cps
of the hydrate sediment resulted in a need for more heat to attain
an equilibrium temperature, thereby impeding dissociation. The
temperature changes during dissociation of the hydrate sediments
differed between using depressurization [17] and the combined
772
Y. Song et al. / International Journal of Heat and Mass Transfer 92 (2016) 766773
Fig. 9. (a) Gas generation rate and (b) cumulative gas production over time for different relative permeabilities of gas (krg) and water (krw), for the basic case (case a,
convection heat transfer of water (nw) = 4 and convection heat transfer of gas (ng) = 2), low relative gas permeability (case b, nw = 4 and ng = 4), and high relative water
permeability (case c, nw = 2 and ng = 2).
Y. Song et al. / International Journal of Heat and Mass Transfer 92 (2016) 766773
similar. A high ks had a partial inhibitory effect and did not always
promote dissociation, especially after its initial stage. With a suitable injection temperature and outlet pressure, the combined
method increases the hydrate decomposition in porous media
when the heat conductivity coefficient is high.
3.4. The role of convective heat transfer
According to Fig. 9, the krw increased for the high relative water
permeability case (case c) compared to the basic conditions (case
a), showing that the influence of water flow on gas production
was weak, with subtle differences between cases a and c. Increasing the krg accelerated the gas flow. Thus, for case a, the gas in the
dissociation region flowed faster than for the low krg conditions
(case b). The convective heat transfer was slightly more affected
by the krg than the krw in hydrate decomposition using the combined method. However, the krg and krw influence in the process
was minor, suggesting a weak effect of gas and water fluxes on
heat exchange during hydrate decomposition.
For hydrate dissociation by depressurization [17], the convective heat transfer from the gas flow was more efficient than from
the water flow for an increasing dissociation. Moreover, a high
krg implied a reduction in the gas resistance to heat transfer in
the inner core. However, when using thermal stimulation [18] or
the combined method, the ng and nw had little influence on hydrate
dissociation.
4. Conclusions
Based on previous studies of hydrate exploitation by depressurization and thermal stimulation, we extended our investigation to
gas production from hydrate-bearing sediments using a method
combining depressurization and thermal stimulation. The roles
on gas production of the injection temperature, sensible heat, conductive heat and convective heat were analyzed.
We concluded that implementation of the combined method
had a positive effect on the gas production rate compared with
using only thermal stimulation, which decreased with increasing
temperature. Decreasing the outlet pressure was advantageous
for achieving a pressure drop and reducing the core pressure, leading to a decrease in the phase equilibrium temperature and
hydrate decomposition. Moreover, a lower outlet pressure supported gas generation as insufficient heat was transferred to the
core at lower temperature. When implementing the combined
method, a suitable stimulation temperature and outlet pressure
must be chosen.
Increasing the Cps of methane-hydrate-bearing porous media
inhibited the gas production rate using the combined method.
Methane-hydrate-bearing porous media with a higher Cps required
more heat injection from the surrounding environment to improve
the core temperature instead of dissociating hydrates. Similarly,
higher initial water contents inhibited the gas production rates,
even though the effect was relatively weak.
At the initial stage of dissociation using the combined method, a
higher ks negatively affected hydrate dissociation. However, as the
reaction progressed, decomposition accelerated and was completed. In contrast, gas production at a lower ks proceeded at a slow
and steady rate, taking longer to complete the reaction.
With the combined method, hydrate dissociation was relatively
insensitive to heat convection in the water or methane gas.
The combined method promoted the gas production rate and
shortened the dissociation time compared with the single depressurization or thermal stimulation. However, the ultimate cumulative gas production for different injection temperatures, sensible
heat, conductive heat flow, and convective heat transfer conditions
773
was nearly identical for all methods. Thus, heat transfer had little
impact on the cumulative gas production.
This work has improved the understanding of hydrate dissociation, gas generation rates, and cumulative gas production when
using the combined method. To further improve gas production
rates and energy efficiency, future research should focus on the
role of pressure and temperature in the suppression of ice and secondary hydrate formation.
References
[1] Y. Song, C. Cheng, J. Zhao, Z. Zhu, W. Liu, M. Yang, K. Xue, Evaluation of gas
production from methane hydrates using depressurization, thermal
stimulation and combined methods, Appl. Energy 145 (2015) 265277.
[2] X. Li, B. Yang, Y. Zhang, G. Li, L. Duan, Y. Wang, Z. Chen, N. Huang, H. Wu,
Experimental investigation into gas production from methane hydrate in
sediment by depressurization in a novel pilot-scale hydrate simulator, Appl.
Energy 93 (2012) 722732.
[3] B. Li, X. Li, G. Li, J. Feng, Y. Wang, Depressurization induced gas production
from hydrate deposits with low gas saturation in a pilot-scale hydrate
simulator, Appl. Energy 129 (2014) 274286.
[4] S. Falser, A.C. Palmer, K.B. Cheong, T.T. Soon, Temperature increase during the
depressurization of partially hydrate-saturated formations within the stability
region, Energy Fuels 27 (2) (2013) 796803.
[5] X. Ruan, Y. Song, H. Liang, M. Yang, B. Dou, Numerical simulation of the gas
production behavior of hydrate dissociation by depressurization in hydratebearing porous medium, Energy Fuels 26 (3) (2012) 16811694.
[6] Y. Wang, X. Li, G. Li, Y. Zhang, B. Li, Z. Chen, Experimental investigation into
methane hydrate production during three-dimensional thermal stimulation
with five-spot well system, Appl. Energy 110 (2013) 9097.
[7] M. Selim, E. Sloan, Heat and mass transfer during the dissociation of hydrates
in porous media, AiCHE J. 35 (6) (1989) 10491052.
[8] G.J. Moridis, Y. Seol, T.J. Kneafsey, Studies of Reaction Kinetics of Methane
Hydrate Dissociation in Porous Media, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory,
2005.
[9] S. Falser, S. Uchida, A. Palmer, K. Soga, T. Tan, Increased gas production from
hydrates by combining depressurization with heating of the wellbore, Energy
Fuels 26 (10) (2012) 62596267.
[10] G. Moridis, T. Collett, Strategies for Gas Production from Hydrate
Accumulations Under Various Geologic Conditions, Lawrence Berkeley
National Laboratory, 2003.
[11] Y. Liu, M. Strumendo, H. Arastoopour, Simulation of methane production from
hydrates by depressurization and thermal stimulation, Ind. Eng. Chem. Res. 48
(5) (2008) 24512464.
[12] X. Li, M. Chen, M. Zhang, R. Xia, Experimental study of natural gas hydrate
dissociation in porous media by thermal stimulation and depressurization, J.
Exp. Mech. 2 (2011) 015.
[13] Y. Bai, Q. Li, Simulation of gas production from hydrate reservoir by the
combination of warm water flooding and depressurization, Sci. China Technol.
Sci. 53 (9) (2010) 24692476.
[14] Z. Feng, Z. Shen, L. Tang, X. Li, S. Fan, Q. Li, Experimental and numerical studies
of natural gas hydrate dissociation by depressurization in different scale
hydrate reservoirs, J. Chem. Ind. Eng. 58 (6) (2007) 1548.
[15] G. Li, L. Tang, C. Huang, Z. Feng, S. Fan, Thermodynamic evaluation of hot brine
stimulation for natural gas hydrate dissociation, J. Chem. Ind. Eng. 57 (9)
(2006) 2033.
[16] L.G. Tang, R. Xiao, C. Huang, Z. Feng, S.S. Fan, Experimental investigation of
production behavior of gas hydrate under thermal stimulation in
unconsolidated sediment, Energy Fuels 19 (6) (2005) 24022407.
[17] J. Zhao, D. Liu, M. Yang, Y. Song, Analysis of heat transfer effects on gas
production from methane hydrate by depressurization, Int. J. Heat Mass
Transfer 77 (2014) 529541.
[18] J. Zhao, J. Wang, W. Liu, Y. Song, Analysis of heat transfer effects on gas
production from methane hydrate by thermal stimulation, Int. J. Heat Mass
Transfer 87 (2015) 145150.
[19] J. Zhao, C. Ye, Y. Song, W. Liu, C. Cheng, Y. Liu, Y. Zhang, D. Wang, X. Ruan,
Numerical simulation and analysis of water phase effect on methane hydrate
dissociation by depressurization, Ind. Eng. Chem. Res. 51 (7) (2012) 3108
3118.
[20] H. Liang, Y. Song, Y. Chen, Numerical simulation for laboratory-scale methane
hydrate dissociation by depressurization, Energy Convers. Manage. 51 (10)
(2010) 18831890.
[21] Y. Song, H. Liang, 2-D numerical simulation of natural gas hydrate
decomposition through depressurization by fully implicit method, China
Ocean Eng. 23 (3) (2009).
[22] Y. Masuda, Y. Fujinaga, S. Naganawa, K. Fujita, K. Sato, Y. Hayashi, Modeling
and experimental studies on dissociation of methane gas hydrates in berea
sandstone cores, in: 3rd International Conference on Gas Hydrates, Salt Lake
City, Utah, (1999), 1822.
[23] R.M. Butler, Thermal Recovery of Oil and Bitumen, Prentice Hall, 1991.