Methane in water cryomatrix-physical modeling of the formation of the clathrate hydrates of methane

Abstract

Nowadays natural gas hydrates attract special attention as a possible source of fossil fuel. According to various estimates, the reserves of hydrocarbons in hydrates exceed considerably explored reserves of natural gas. Due to the clathrate structure the unit volume of the gas hydrate can contain up to 160-180 volumes of pure gas. In recent years interest to a problem of gas hydrates has considerably increased. Such changes are connected with the progress of searches of alternative sources of hydrocarbonic raw materials in countries that do not possess the resources of energy carriers. Thus gas hydrates are nonconventional sources of the hydrocarbonic raw materials which can be developed in the near future. At the same time, mechanisms of methane clathrate hydrates formations have not reached an advanced level, their thermophysical and mechanical properties have not been investigated profoundly [1]. Regarding this experimental modeling of the processes of formational clathrate hydrates of methane in water cryomatrix in the process of co-condensation from gas phase on cooled substrate was carried in the range of condensation temperatures T=(12-60) K and pressures P=(10-4-10-6) Torr. In this experiment concentration of methane in water varies in the range of 1-10%. The thickness of a film was 30-60 mcm. The vibrational spectra of two-component thin films of cryovacuum condensates of CH4+H2O were measured and analyzed.