Experimental study of gas production from hydrate dissociation with continuous injection mode using a three-dimensional quiescent reactor

The exploitation of methane hydrate formed under the same conditions is simulated experimentally to investigate the gas production behavior at different injected solutions (hot water, saline solution, and ethylene glycol) with continuous injection mode using a three-dimensional quiescent reactor. The influence of hot water temperature, injection rate, and injected solution type on the gas production and the energy efficiency are examined. The results show that the gas production increases with the increased hot water temperature, but the influence of temperature is weakened when it is beyond 313.0 K. An optimal injection rate also exists for the gas production. Hydrate dissociation with NaCl solution has the highest gas production compared with Na2SO4 and ethylene glycol when under the same conditions. The comparison of energy efficiency between the continuous injection mode and the interval injection mode shows that the former mode with double wells is more in favor of hydrate dissociation and gas production.