{"id":1441,"date":"2021-12-09T02:34:00","date_gmt":"2021-12-09T01:34:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/as-schneider.blog\/?p=1441"},"modified":"2022-01-13T06:45:17","modified_gmt":"2022-01-13T05:45:17","slug":"natural-gas-storage-in-salt-caverns-and-the-challenge-of-hydrate-formation","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/as-schneider.blog\/2021\/12\/09\/natural-gas-storage-in-salt-caverns-and-the-challenge-of-hydrate-formation\/","title":{"rendered":"Underground natural gas storage in salt caverns and the challenge of hydrate formation"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t
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Underground natural gas storage in salt caverns and the challenge of hydrate formation<\/h1>\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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Many of my customers use natural gas storage facilities in order to balance out low and peak demands over the course of a year<\/span><\/strong><\/strong>. <\/strong><\/div>
Over the years, <\/strong>I have gained a lot of valuable experience on this topic. This knowledge is what I would like to share with you in the context of a blog article.<\/span><\/strong><\/div><\/div>
\u00a0<\/span><\/div><\/div>
In my article, I describe the use of salt caverns for underground natural gas storage. <\/span>Furthermore, I explain how these caverns <\/span><\/span>are created and the advantages of storing natural gas in salt caverns. <\/span><\/span>I also describe how hydrate formation <\/span>is examined<\/span><\/span> during the storage process. And go into detail about the various challenges of hydrate formation.<\/span><\/div><\/div>\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t
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Underground natural gas storage<\/h2>\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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Natural gas remains one of the most important energy sources in the world despite the increasing popularity of renewable energy. In terms of emissions during power generation, natural gas is the cleanest fossil fuel. According to the United States Energy Information Administration (EIA), use of natural gas produces almost 50% less CO2<\/sub> than coal.<\/p>

In order, to ensure a reliable, year-round supply of affordable natural gas, large storage facilities are required. While natural gas can be stored in gaseous and liquified form in above ground tanks, underground storage offers several benefits including economy and safety. Underground natural gas storage facilities can be classified into three main types<\/a>.<\/p>

For the curious minded reader, a brief overview of the different types of underground natural gas storage facilities is given in the info box at the end of the article. This article only focuses on natural gas storage in salt caverns.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t<\/i>\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\tDepleted reservoirs <\/span>\n\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t<\/i>\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\tDepleted aquifers<\/span>\n\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t<\/i>\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\tSalt caverns<\/span>\n\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t
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How is natural gas stored in salt caverns?<\/h2>\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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Salt is impermeable to natural gas. It is this property that makes salt caverns ideal for natural gas storage.<\/p>

A natural gas cavern is a cavity \u201cdug\u201d in a salt dome located 1000 to 2500m below the earth\u2019s surface. <\/span>The first step in creating a salt cavern is to find a salt deposit location suitable for natural gas storage. The solubility of salt in water is used to remove the salt from the dome thus creating a cavity.<\/p>

A well is drilled in the salt formation and a large amount of water is cycled through the completed well. The water dissolves the salt increasing the size of the cavity. The salty water extracted from the well is further processed to remove the salt or released into the sea in an environment-friendly way.<\/p>

This process of creating a salt cavern is called \u2018salt cavern leaching\u2019. The leaching process may take several years until a sufficiently large cylindrical cavity has formed.<\/p>

Salt caverns typically have a diameter of up to 100m and a height of 500m; this is large enough to house the Berlin television tower!<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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Salt cavern leaching can be relatively expensive when compared to the cost of setting up other types of underground natural gas storage. However, the deliverability of a salt cavern is typically much higher than for an aquifer<\/a> or a depleted reservoir<\/a>.<\/p>

Deliverability is the amount of gas that can be withdrawn from a storage facility per day. High deliverability not only means that stored natural gas can be more readily withdrawn, but also that it can be replenished faster.<\/p>

Furthermore, the cushion gas requirement for a salt cavern is the lowest of the three storage types. Salt caverns typically require only a third of the total gas capacity to be used as cushion gas.<\/p>

Along with these advantages, storage of natural gas in salt caverns also presents challenges. A major issue faced by operators of natural gas storage facilities is gas hydrate formation in the piping. Or in equipment connecting the reservoir head to the treatment plant, too. During withdrawal or supply of gas from\/to a salt cavern, problems such as restricted flow and inaccurate pressure measurements can arise due to the formation of hydrates.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t

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What are hydrates?<\/h2>\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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Methane clathrate, also known as natural gas hydrate or methane hydrate is a solid clathrate compound in which a large amount of methane is trapped.<\/p>

Clathrate refers to a substance that traps molecules inside a lattice. In this case, the lattice is formed by water molecules held together by hydrogen bonds.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t

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How does hydrate formation occur? <\/h2>\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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The four essential components that lead to hydrate formation during the transport of natural gas from the reservoir are:<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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