Experimental investigation of hydrate formation in water-dominated pipeline and its influential factors

Blockage in water-dominated flow pipelines due to hydrate reformation has been suggested as a potential safety issue during the hydrate production. In this work, flow velocity-dependent hydrate formation features are investigated in a fluid circulation system with a total length of 39 m. A 9-m section pipe is transparent consisted of two complete rectangular loops. By means of pressurization with gas-saturated water, the system can gradually reach the equilibrium conditions. The result shows that the hydrates are delayed to appear as floccules or thin films covering the methane bubbles. When the circulation velocity is below 750 rpm, hydrate is finally deposited as a “hydrate bed” at upmost of inner wall, narrowing the flow channel of the pipeline. Nevertheless, no plugging is observed during all the experimental runs. The five stages of hydrate deposition are proposed based on the experimental results. It is also revealed that a higher driving pressure is needed at a lower flow rate. The driving force of hydrate formation from gas and water obtained by melting hydrate is higher than that from fresh water with no previous hydrate history. The authors hope that this work will be beneficial for the flow assurance of the following oceanic field hydrate recovery trials.©2022 China Geology Editorial Office.     

常见稀有气体采样容器研究进展及意义

稀有气体是地学研究的重要手段之一,在研究成矿流体来源、壳幔相互作用过程中具有重要的研究意义,其组成及同位素比值是研究天体和地质体来源、成岩机理及各种地质和物理化学过程的关键,可作为地球化学示踪剂。如何有效地在大气圈、水圈和岩石圈进行稀有气体同位素样品的提取,是气体同位素研究急需解决的基础科学问题,所以气体采样容器和取样技术显得尤为重要。本文在文献调研的基础上,对常见的采样容器的优缺点进行对比,并总结了不同采样容器对稀有气体取样的优劣性。常见的气体采集容器包括不锈钢瓶、铜管、玻璃瓶、气体采样袋、注射器等,而稀有气体的采集容器常为不锈钢瓶和铜管等;通过对比表明不锈钢瓶具有耐高温、耐高压、抗强腐蚀、不易燃、不易爆等特点和优越性,在气体样品采集和运输过程中稳定性最好,实验效果也最好;铜管采样效果和密封性好,但操作较为复杂;玻璃采样容器效果次之;石英玻璃瓶虽然操作简便,但是运输保存不便;气体采样袋和注射器的采集和运输储存效果较差。因此建议稀有气体样品采集使用不锈钢瓶和铜管以及钠钙材质的玻璃瓶,不建议将石英材质玻璃容器以及注射器和气袋作为稀有气体的采样工具。该工作可为气体地球化学的研究提供新的参考。     

http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1674987114000668

Microbial diversity in the hydrate-containing (sites SH3B and SH7B) and-free (sites SH1B, SH5B, SH5C) sediments collected from the Shenhu area of the South China Sea (SCS) was investigated using 16S rR...     

Carbons at the heart of questions on energy and environment: A nanostructural approach

The organization of disordered carbons at the nanometer scale, or nanostructure, reveals very precisely their formation conditions, either in Nature or in the laboratory or in industry. Its study allows a better understanding of the properties of such solids. Only High-Resolution Transmission Electron Microscopy (HRTEM) allows a direct imaging of the nanostructure, whereas Raman microspectrometry provides quantitative but averaged structural data. Applications of the original coupling of Raman with HRTEM, especially in the fields of Energy and Environment, are numerous and promising. Two examples are given concerning the decontamination of irradiated nuclear graphite waste and detection of hydrocarbons trapped in oil and gas shales. Moreover, the study of wood carbonization led our team to propose a novel Raman-based paleothermometer. This approach finds an unexpected application in archeology (e.g., the study of fire marks in prehistoric caves).     

RAPID ESTIMATION OF THE NUMBER OF COELUTING COMPONENTS IN LIQUID CHROMATOGRAPHY BY FACTOR ANALYSIS

Evaluation of the results of factor analysis of sets of spectroscopically detected chromatograms is carriedout by examining the shapes of the abstract factors.This is done either by visual inspection or by analysisof the power density spectra produced from them.Owing to constraints imposed by the column functionand the spectroscopic instrument function,the information content of the chromatograms necessarilyoccurs at low spatial frequencies.As a consequence,it appears as relatively broad features in the abstractchromatograms and as a peak in the low-frequency region of the corresponding power density plot.Onthe basis of examination of the power density distribution,a well-defined distinction is made betweenprimary and secondary abstract factors.The major uncertainty encountered in determining the numberof chemical components appears to arise from effects of contaminants in reagents.     

MULTICOMPONENT DETERMINATIONS BY A MEMBRANE-DISCRIMINATED GAS PHASE ANALYZER AND SUCCESSIVE REGRESSION IN THE FIDUCIARY REGION

A membrane-discriminated gas phase analyzer is proposed for multicomponent determinations. Nitrogengas flows countercurrent through outer and inner channels in a tube-in-tube arrangement. The onlycommunication between the two channels occurs through a 500μm aperture covered by a porous PTFEmembrane. A mixture of organic compounds (up to four components) is injected into the inner channelby a heated backflushed injector and the sample components diffusing into the outer channel aremonitored by a flame ionization detector (FID). A calibration set, consisting of pure components, binary,ternary and quaternary mixtures (a total of 64 samples), provides the known data base: temporal profilesof the FID output as a function of sample composition, Although the overall response behavior is nota linearly additive function of individual analyte concentrations, the use of successive inverse multiplelinear regression (while continually altering the choice of the calibration samples considered for theforward regression, on the basis of the most recent values of the predicted unknown sample composition)is shown to yield analytical results for unknown samples that are in good agreement with their true values.     

Doppler radar sounding of volcanic eruption dynamics at Mount Etna

Besides their common use in atmospheric studies, Doppler radars are promising tools for the active remote sensing of volcanic eruptions but were little applied to this field. We present the observations made with a mid-power UHF Doppler radar (Voldorad) during a 7-h Strombolian eruption at the SE crater of Mount Etna on 11–12 October 1998. Main characteristics of radar echoes are retrieved from analysis of Doppler spectra recorded in the two range gates on either side of the jet axis. From the geometry of the sounding, the contribution of uprising and falling ejecta to each Doppler spectrum can be discriminated. The temporal evolution of total power backscattered by uprising targets is quite similar to the temporal evolution of the volcanic tremor and closely reproduces the overall evolution of the eruption before, during and after its paroxysm. Moreover, during the sharp decrease of eruptive activity following the paroxysm, detailed analysis of video (from camera recording), radar and seismic measurements reveals that radar and video signals start to decrease simultaneously, approximately 2.5 min after the tremor decline. This delay is interpreted as the ascent time through a magma conduit of large gas slugs from a shallow source roughly estimated at about 500 m beneath the SE crater. Detailed analysis of eruptive processes has been also made with Voldorad operating in a high sampling rate mode. Signature of individual outburst is clearly identified on the half part of Doppler spectra corresponding to rising ejecta: temporal variations of the backscattered power exhibit quasi periodic undulations, whereas the maximum velocity measured on each spectrum displays a sharp peak at the onset of each outburst followed by a slow decay with time. Periodicity of power variations (between 3.8 and 5.5 s) is in agreement with the occurrence of explosions visually observed at the SE vent. Maximum vertical velocities of over 160 m s^–1 were measured during the paraoxysmal stage and the renewed activity. Finally, by using a simplified model simulating the radar echoes characteristics, we show that when Voldorad is operating in high sampling rate mode, the power and maximum velocity variations are directly related to the difference in size and velocity of particles crossing the antenna beam.Editorial responsibility: A. Woods     

The mud volcanoes of Pakistan

Marine-geologic investigations on the Arabian Sea by Bundesanstalt für Geowissenschaften und Rohstoffe (BGR) in 1995 and 1998, and land expeditions in 1998 and 1999 to the coastal regions of the Makran Desert/Pakistan have extended the knowledge of the aerial distribution of mud volcanoes. These structures rise from under-compacted formations within the regional accretionary prism, which is built by the subduction of the oceanic crust of the Arabian Sea and its km-thick sedimentary load. The occurrence of mud volcanoes is limited to the abyssal plain near the accretionary front, to the coastal region of the Makran Desert and to a region in the interior of the Desert to the south to southeast of the so-called Hinglay Synform. The location of mud volcanoes in Pakistan is clearly tied to fault systems. Mud volcanoes are conspicuously absent on the lower slope of the accretionary prism, where thick gas hydrate layers have developed. The presence of large gas plumes emerging from the seafloor landward of the gas hydrate stability zone at water depths of less than 800 m points to a redirection of fluids from depth, which might explain the absence of mud volcanoes along the lower slope.     

云南省煤层气资源勘探开发对外合作

滇东地区有较丰富的煤炭和煤层气资源。中美合作项目"云南恩洪和老厂地区煤层气资源开采对外合作",属我国煤层气勘探开发对外合作项目之一。开展二年来,取得丰硕成果。本文介绍我省的煤层气资源,我国煤层气开发鼓励政策及相关法规,我国煤层气对外合作的基本原则和合作模式,我省煤层气勘探开发合作项目的进展及取得的成果。     

Adsorption of NO, SO2 and light hydrocarbons on activated Greek brown coals

Twenty-eight samples of peat, peaty lignites and lignites (of both matrix and xylite-rich lithotypes) and subbituminous coals have been physically activated by pyrolysis. The results show that the surface area of the activated coal samples increases substantially and the higher the carbon content of the samples the higher the surface area.The adsorption capacity of the activated coals for NO, SO₂, C₃H₆ and a mixture of light hydrocarbons (CH₄, C₂H₆, C₃H₈ and C₄H₁₀) at various temperatures was measured on selected samples. The result shows a positive correlation between the surface area and the gas adsorption. In contrast, the gas adsorption is inversely correlated with the temperature. The maximum recorded adsorption values are: NO = 8.22 × 10^− 5 mol/g at 35 °C; SO₂ = 38.65 × 10^− 5 mol/g at 60 °C; C₃H₆ = 38.9 × 10^− 5 mol/g at 35 °C; and light hydrocarbons = 19.24 × 10^− 5 mol/g at 35 °C. Adsorption of C₃H₆ cannot be correlated with either NO or SO₂. However, there is a significant positive correlation between NO and SO₂ adsorptions. The long chain hydrocarbons are preferentially adsorbed on activated lignites as compared to the short chain hydrocarbons.The results also suggest a positive correlation between surface area and the content of telohuminite maceral sub-group above the level of 45%.