HYDRATE SEALING EFFECTS RELATED TO STORAGE OF CO_2 IN COLD RESERVOIR

摘要

We have proposed a scheme for evaluation of hydrate sealing effects related to storage of CO_2 in cold reservoirs. The scheme is based on estimation of kinetic rates of heterogeneous hydrate formation on the CO_2/water interface and corresponding kinetic rates of hydrate dissociation towards pure water using a Phase Field Theory approach. The scheme needs no empirical parameters once the interface thickness and interface free energy between water and hydrate is known. If the estimated dissociation rate is lower than the formation rate then this dissociation rate is used as a conservative estimate of the leakage flux through the hydrate membrane. Preliminary simulations show the expected qualitative behavior. The agreement with the limited comparable experimental information available from open literature is good.