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Indexed by:Journal Papers

Date of Publication:2015-05-01

Journal:MAGNETIC RESONANCE IMAGING

Included Journals:SCIE、PubMed、Scopus

Volume:33

Issue:4

Page Number:485-490

ISSN No.:0730-725X

Key Words:Methane hydrate; Formation; Dissociation; Magnetic resonance imaging

Abstract:In this work, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) was employed to observe the in-situ formation and dissociation of methane hydrates in porous media. Methane hydrate was formed in a high-pressure cell with controlled temperature, and then the hydrate was dissociated by thermal injection. The process was photographed by the MRI, and the pressure was recorded. The images confirmed that the direct visual observation was achieved; these were then employed to provide detailed information of the nucleation, growth, and decomposition of the hydrate. Moreover, the saturation of methane hydrate during the dissociation was obtained from the MRI intensity data. Our results showed that the hydrate saturation initially decreased rapidly, and then slowed down; this finding is in line with predictions based only on pressure. The study clearly showed that MRI is a useful technique to investigate the process of methane hydrate formation and dissociation in porous media. (C) 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.