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Separation mechanism and dynamics characteristics of natural gas hydrate by helically coiled tube

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Abstract

The separation of natural gas hydrate is a key issue for its exploitation. In order to analyze the interior mechanism and separation dynamics of hydrate separation, this paper designs a helically coiled tube to separate the impurity based on the hydrate exploiting conditions. Within the theoretical analysis section, it establishes the dynamic expression of hydrate particle and analyzes the dynamic characteristics of hydrate particle at longitudinal, radial and tangential directions in the helical tube. By experimental test, it also discusses the influence of key parameter on the separation. For the stratified smooth flow, the velocity of hydrate is less than 4 m/s when the saturation varies from 0 to 0.2,while its velocity is less than 2.8 m/s when saturation is greater than 0.2. For the disperse flow, the velocity of hydrate is greater than 4 m/s when the saturation is less than 0.2. For the stratified wave flow, the velocity of hydrate is greater than 2.8 m/s when the saturation is greater than 0.2. The analysis of particle distribution shows that the distribution of hydrate gradually approaches the outside of helically coiled tube with the increase of saturation under the effect of centrifugal force. The results of this study can provide a significant reference for the hydrate separation technology, including separation equipment design and optimization.

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Acknowledgements

The authors would like to thank the editors and reviewers for reading the manuscript and suggesting improvements.

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  1. Jialin Tian

    Present address: School of Mechatronic Engineering, Southwest Petroleum University, Chengdu, 610500, China

Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Mechatronic Engineering, Southwest Petroleum University, Chengdu, 610500, China

    Xiachun Xiao, Lin Yang, Chenghang Liu & Linpeng Guo

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  1. Jialin Tian
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  2. Xiachun Xiao
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Correspondence to Xiachun Xiao.

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Tian, J., Xiao, X., Yang, L. et al. Separation mechanism and dynamics characteristics of natural gas hydrate by helically coiled tube. Heat Mass Transfer 58, 1459–1471 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00231-022-03176-4

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