Enhanced methane hydrate formation through lignocellulose fiber

Gas hydrate is considered to be a highly efficient natural gas storage technology, which has a broad outlook and great potential. In this work, lignocellulose fiber from paper was chosen as a carrier for enhanced hydrate formation based on availability and universality, and the experiments of lignocellulose fiber-promoted hydrate were carried out at about 275.2 K and 6 MPa by a novel experimental apparatus including 6 parallel high-pressure gas storage reactors. When the mass ratio for water and paper ( R w) was saturated, the lignocellulose fiber in printed paper exhibited the highest CH 4 uptake, and its maximum CH 4 uptake reached 1.396 mmol/g when R w = 3.0. Capillary-driven water suction in lignocellulose fibers played a dominant role during hydrate formation. Besides, the synergistic effect of lignocellulose fibers and SDS on CH 4 hydrate formation was also studied. The induction time of CH 4 hydrate was minimized to less than 10 min, the time in 300 ppm SDS was only 0.65 min. The CH 4 uptake was 1.567 mmol/g, and max rate of CH 4 uptake was 0.152 mmol/g/min with 500 ppm SDS, which were 13.6 % and 3.75 times higher than that of without SDS respectively. It was attributed to the surface of the lignocellulose fibers providing nucleation sites for CH 4 hydrate formation, while SDS reduces the surface tension of water. This work is promised to provide a more flexible solution for hydrate storage and utilization.