# US 9,039,949 B2 · Method of molding gas hydrate pellet

> Agents: this data is available as JSON from the patentgrep API and MCP server — see https://patentgrep.com/llms.txt

- Number: US 9,039,949 B2
- Document ID: US9039949B2
- Status: Granted
- Kind: B2
- Application number: 14/114,728
- Filed: 2012-03-19
- Published: 2014-07-24
- Granted: 2015-05-26
- Earliest claimed: 2011-03-30
- Assignees: Mitsui Engineering & Shipbuilding Co., Ltd.; National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology
- Applicants: Wataru Iwabuchi; Tomoaki Egami; Hideo Narita; Jiro Nagao; Kiyofumi Suzuki
- Inventors: Wataru Iwabuchi; Tomoaki Egami; Hideo Narita; Jiro Nagao; Kiyofumi Suzuki
- Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US9039949B2

## CPC

- C10L 5/08: without the aid of extraneous binders
- B30B 9/067: {with a retractable abutment member closing one end of the press chamber}
- C10L 3/108: {Production of gas hydrates}
- C10L 5/363: {Pellets or granulates}
- C10L 2290/32: Molding or moulds
- C10L 2290/46: Compressors or pumps
- C10L 2290/58: Control or regulation of the fuel preparation of upgrading process
- C10L: FUELS NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR; NATURAL GAS; SYNTHETIC NATURAL GAS OBTAINED BY PROCESSES NOT COVERED BY SUBCLASSES C10G OR C10K; LIQUIFIED PETROLEUM GAS; USE OF ADDITIVES TO FUELS OR FIRES; FIRE-LIGHTERS
- B30B: PRESSES IN GENERAL (producing ultra-high pressure or ultra-high pressure and high temperature to effect modifications of a substance, e.g. for making artificial diamonds B01J3/00 ){(compressing means for refuse receptacles B65F1/1405)}

## Abstract

A method is for molding a gas hydrate pellet for improving convenience of handling of a natural gas hydrate during transportation and storage, and thereby improving the practical use of the natural gas hydrate. Gas hydrate slurry is fed in a compression chamber, and pressure and compression are applied to the gas hydrate slurry by advancing a compression plunger. At that time, a stroking speed of the compression plunger is set minimum, preferably less than a value expressed by a stroke length of the compression plunger at compression×10−2 (m/min. By advancing the compression plunger at low speed, binding between particles of the gas hydrate is tightened, thereby the gas hydrate pellet with increased shearing strength can be molded.

## Claims

### Claim 1

A method of molding a gas hydrate pellet in a gas hydrate formation plant including a generator in which a raw material gas and water are fed and adapted for reacting the raw material gas with water under high pressure in the generator to produce a gas hydrate slurry and removing water from the gas hydrate slurry that is produced to mold the gas hydrate shiny into a gas hydrate pellet of desired size, the method, comprising:
feeding the gas hydrate slurry in a cylindrical compression chamber provided with a compression plunger capable of advancing and retreating in the cylindrical compression chamber in a direction of an axis of the compression chamber,
advancing the compression plunger to exert compression action for squeezing out water from the gas hydrate slurry to mold the gas hydrate pellet, and
minimizing an advancing speed of the compression plunger at a time when water is squeezed from the gas hydrate slurry so that binding between particles of a gas hydrate is tightened and the molded gas hydrate pellet has an increased shearing strength.

### Claim 2

A method of molding a gas hydrate pellet in a gas hydrate formation plant including a generator in which a raw material gas and water are fed and adapted for reacting the raw material gas with water under high pressure in the generator to produce a gas hydrate slurry and removing water from the gas hydrate slurry that is produced to mold the gas hydrate slurry into a gas hydrate pellet of desired size, the method, comprising:
feeding the gas hydrate slurry in a cylindrical compression chamber provided with a compression plunger capable of advancing and retreating in the cylindrical compression chamber in a direction of an axis of the compression chamber, and
advancing the compression plunger to exert compression action for squeezing out water from the gas hydrate slurry to mold the gas hydrate pellet,
wherein an advancing speed of the compression plunger is less than a value expressed by a length of the pellet before compression×10−2 (m/min).