Effect of silica particles on the stability of methane hydrates

A systematic study of methane hydrate formation and dissociation was carried out in the suspensions of silica (diameter 50, 150 and 200 μm) and natural bentonite-clay (collected from ∼40 mbsf) from Krishna–Godavari (KG) basin. All the experiments were carried out in a stirred reactor using 10 wt% of silica and natural sediment samples. Presence of silica or bentonite-clay did not show any noticeable shift in methane hydrate dissociation corroborating the literature, however, nucleation and growth of hydrates were quicker in the presence of silica or bentonite system compared to pure hydrate system. The silica grains have also shown considerable effect on release of methane during the dissociation.

► Methane hydrate formation in suspensions of silica (50, 150, 250 μm) and bentonite clay.
► Hydrate nucleation is quicker in suspensions than water alone.
► Lower hydrate conversion (20–30%) compared to pure water.
► Gas releasing rate is identical in all these hydrate systems.