Gas hydrate research system designed by UNN scientists
The original setup was developed by Nizhny Novgorod scientists to study the formation of gas hydrates, an alternative source of natural gas. The system was first presented in 2024 at the First Russian Gas Hydrate Conference.
“We based our design on similar European-made equipment, but we engineered it in such a way that the system could be completely assembled from domestic components,” says Ekaterina Stepanova, a research assistant at the Research Laboratory for Engineering Chemistry of the UNN Research Institute of Chemistry and an engineer at the Advanced Engineering School of Lobachevsky University.
The gas hydrate research system is intended to measure the equilibrium pressure and temperature of hydrate formation of individual gases or gas mixtures. The principle of its operation is based on measuring the true conditions of hydrate formation in the mixture being investigated. The mixture is fed into a sealed cell with water and the measurements are performed by means of sensors. The unit consists of three 40 ml cells, a thermostat, pressure and temperature sensors, a stepper motor, a stirring system, shut-off valves and fittings, and a personal computer that controls the process.
“A gas hydrate is a solid crystalline structure that looks like ice but has gas inside it. Gas hydrates are very common in nature, and we are studying man-made hydrates in our laboratory using the system we have designed. The results of these studies can be used in the oil and gas industry in the future,” explains Ekaterina Stepanova.
Natural gas hydrates are an unconventional type of energy source because natural gas they contain is in a non-standard form. Gas molecules are enclosed in a cage-like crystal lattice of water molecules, which retain their stability at high pressure and low temperatures. In addition to their energy potential, gas hydrates demonstrate a number of properties that allow them to be used for gas separation, water desalination and gas transportation.
Nizhny Novgorod scientists started developing the system to study the process of gas hydrate formation in the fall of 2022. It was based on the principle of “rocking cells”.
This work was carried out by scientists of the UNN Research Institute of Chemistry with the financial support of the Russian Science Foundation as part of the research project No. 22-79-10222, as well as within the framework of the Strategic Academic Leadership Program “Priority 2030” of the Russian Ministry of Science and Higher Education.
The results were published in Chemical Engineering and Processing - Process Intensification, a leading journal in the field of chemistry.
