• Journal of Advanced Marine Engineering and Technology
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• v.38 no.5
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• pp.589-601
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• 2014

Natural gas hydrate (NGH) is emerging as a new eco-friendly source of energy to replace fossil fuels in the 21st century. It is well known that the Natural Gas Hydrate contains large amount of natural gas about 170 times as much as its volume and it is easy to be stored and transported safely at about $-20^{\circ}C$ under atmospheric pressure due to so called "self-preservation effect". The option of gas transport by gas hydrate pellets carrier has been investigated and developed in various industry and academy. The natural gas hydrate pellet carrier is on major link in a potential gas hydrate process chain, starting with the extraction of natural gas from the reservoir, followed by the production of hydrate pellets and the transportation to an onshore terminal for further processing or marketing. In recent years, Korean project team supported by Korean Government has been working on the development of NGH total systems including novel NGH carrier since 2011. In order to increase the knowledge on the NGH pellet carrier developed and to understand the major hazards that could have significant impact on the safety of the vessel, this paper presents and evaluates the pros and cons of cargo holds, loading and unloading systems through the analysis of current patent technology. Based on the proven and well-known technologies as well as potential measures to mitigate sintering and minimize mechanical stress on the hydrate pellet in the self-preservation state, this study presents the conceptual and basic design for NGH carrier.

• 한국신재생에너지학회:학술대회논문집
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• 2009.06a
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• pp.686-686
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• 2009

가스하이드레이트는 수소결합을 하는 물분자의 고체상 격자(Lattice)내에 포집되어 들어가는 기체분자로 구성된 결정화합물로서 외형적인 형태는 얼음과 거의 유사하다. 천연가스 하이드레이트 기술의 최대장점으로는 액화천연가스(LNG)는 초저온인 $-162^{\circ}C$의 저장조건이 필요하지만 천연가스하이드레이트(NGH)기술은 비교적 온화한 조건인 $-15^{\circ}C$에서 천연가스를 고체상태로 저장/이용할 수 있다는 것이다. 천연가스를 $-162^{\circ}C$에서 액화시킨 LNG상태로 생산, 수송, 저장하는 경우보다 고체상태인 NGH(Natural Gas Hydrate)로 만들어서 생산, 수송, 저장할 경우 천연가스의 생산, 수송, 저장, 재가스화 등의 일련의 공정과 비교해볼 때 LNG방법보다 약 24%이상의 경비를 절감을 할 수 있다고 보고되어지고 있다. 따라서, 천연가스의 수송 및 저장기술에서의 탁월한 경제성으로 인해 선진국에서는 가스하이드레이트에 대한 활발한 연구가 진행되고 있다. 특히 일본은 5Ton/Day용량의 NGH 생산플랜트를 건설하여 시운전 중에 있다. NGH기술의 주요 활용분야는 대용량의 가스매장량을 요구하여 LNG공정기술을 적용할 수 없는 중소형가스전 또는 한계가스전에 경제적으로 적용하는 해양수송분야와 천연가스 공급망이 갖춰져 있지 못한 지역에 NGH Pellet형태로 수송/재기화하여 활용하는 내륙운송이 분야가 있다. 국내에서는 지식경제부 국책과제인 ETI(Energy Technology Innovation)사업을 시작으로 국가경쟁력 제고 차원에서 이러한 기술의 기반구촉 및 실증화 사업이 진행되고 있다. 주요 내용으로는 NGH Process Flow, Overall NGH Process concept diagram, NGH Carrier outline, NGH Land Transportation chain 등이 포함되어 있다.

• 한국신재생에너지학회:학술대회논문집
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• 2008.05a
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• pp.610-612
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• 2008

Piston cores retrieved from the eastern part of the deep-water Ulleung Basin were analyzed to access the potential of hydrocarbon gas generation and natural gas hydrate (NGH) formation. Seismic data acquired in the study area were also analyzed to determine the presence of hydrocarbon gas and/or NGH, and to map their distribution. Core analyses revealed high total organic carbon (TOC) contents which favor hydrocarbon generation. The cores recovered from the southern study area showed the sufficient residual hydrocarbon gas concentrations for the formation of significant NGH. These cores also showed the cracks developed parallel to the bedding that suggest significant gas content in situ. A number of seismic blanking zones were observed on seismic data. They are identified as vertical to sub-vertical chimneys caused by the upward migration of pore fluid or gas, and containing of free gas and/or NGH. Often, they are associated with velocity pull-up structures that are interpreted to be the result of high-velocity NGH. The seismic data also showed several bottom-simulating reflectors (BSRs) that are associated with overlying NGH and underlying free gas. The distribution of blanking zones and BSRs would be impacted by the lateral differences of upward methane fluxes.

• Proceedings of the Korean Society of Marine Engineers Conference
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• 2011.06a
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• pp.13-14
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• 2011

Methane Hydrates or Natural Gas Hydrates (hereinafter NGH) are solid-state energy source formed by the clathration of methane gas in water molecules at low temperature and high pressure. NGH is also known as "burning ice" because of its burning property and appearance similar to that of dry ice. Today, concerns about the NGH are rising as an environment-friendly energy source that can replace fossil fuels. In this paper, to keep pace with the research and development of the NGH, the properties of the NGH and the general features of NGH carriers are introduced.

• 한국신재생에너지학회:학술대회논문집
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• 2010.11a
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• pp.151.1-151.1
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• 2010

Natural gas hydrates (NGH) provide 170 gas volumes per unit volume of the medium and are easier to make with moderate pressure and temperature (40 bar at 3 C). Once they form, their preservation temperature is 20 C at 1 bar, which is much milder than the LNG preservation. In case of using the NGH, The small and medium sized gas well has advantages for development because of NGH's these characteristics. According to the cost evaluation report of Gudmundsson in Norway and the research of MES in Japan, the gas well that uses the NGH has a cost saving effect about 10~20% compared LNG. The effect depends on distance and production. However, cost saving and efficiency of liquefaction process is increased by the development of LNG liquefaction technology. Therefore, these factors have to be reflected in economic analysis. The purpose of this research is to compare the cost of Gas Supply Chain according to the transport type, distance and gas reserves. Especially, we consider not only the cost of facility but also the total cost (production cost, transport cost, etc).

• 한국신재생에너지학회:학술대회논문집
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• 2007.06a
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• pp.511-514
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• 2007

Gas hydrate has a unique property that can store a large volume of gas in water as a solid form. Even though investigations for natural gas storage technology have been carried out for several decades, there are still a lot of unsolved problems due to complex formation process, low formation speed, high energy consumption and so on. So, lots of experiments were conducted to overcome these weaknesses and to develop artificial NGH formation technology applicable to industrial-scale storage and commercial transport. In this study, some series of experiments were performed to analyze both stirred and unstirred system especially about the influences of several gas hydrate formation factors such as agitation speed, system temperature, SDS concentration, etc. As a result, optimum range of SDS concentration and temperature that could enhance the storage capacity and shorten the formation time were found. And it is obviously presented that SDS such a kind of surfactant promotes gas hydrate formation dramatically and the quantity of stored gas are proportional to agitation speed in stirred system.

• Journal of Advanced Marine Engineering and Technology
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• v.39 no.10
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• pp.1002-1010
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• 2015

Natural gas hydrates are newly emerging as an environment-friendly source of energy to substitute for fossil fuels in the 21stcentury.NGHs are reported to holds much amounts of natural gas (up to 182 standard volumes of gas per volume of hydrate); they are easy to store and safe to carry at about minus 20 degree Celsius under atmospheric pressure because of the self-preservation phenomenon of gas hydrates. The transporting method by gas-ice-hydrate ship carriers has been introduced and developed by a variety of industry and research institutions. Our team has been conducted to develop NGH total systems, including a breakthrough NGH carrier for sea transportation, since 2011. The NGH pellet carrier does not require a separate cooling system for cargo, and the initial temperature is maintained through insulation of the cargo tanks throughout the transport to the final destination. The heat conducted from the exterior and passing through the insulation material of the hull should be cut off as much as possible, but heat inflow inside the cargo tank from an external source is inevitable during transport. In this study, the heat transfer in a cargo tank of a 115K NGH carrier was analyzed through simulation with a commercial CFD code to estimate the boil-off gas/boil-off rate on the developed carrier and understand major hazards that could significantly impact the safety of the vessel.

• 한국신재생에너지학회:학술대회논문집
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• 2006.11a
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• pp.50-53
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• 2006

Regional geophysical surveys and geological cal studies on natural gas hydrate (NGH) in the East Sea were carried out by the Korea Institute of Geoscience and Mineral Resources (KIGAM) from 2000 to 2004. 16 piston cores, 2270 L-km of multi-channel reflection seismic (MCRS) data and 730 L-km of 3.5kHz Chirp data obtained from the southwestern part of the deep-water Ulleung Basin were analyzed in this study. In piston cores, cracks generally developed parallel to bedding suggest significant gas content. The core analyses showed high total organic carbon (TOC) content, sedimentation rate and heat flow of sediments. These are in favor of the general ion of substantial biogenic methane, which can form the NGH within the stability zone of the near seafloor sediments in the study area. The cores generally show also high residual hydrocarbon gas concentrations for the formation of natural gas hydrates The geophysical indicators of the presence of gas and/or NGH such as bottom simulating reflectors (BSRs), seismic blank Bones, pockmarks and gas seeping features were well defined on the MCRS and Chirp data.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Manufacturing Process Engineers
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• v.11 no.6
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• pp.152-157
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• 2012

This study investigates compressive strength of ice pellet strip which is potential medium for Natural Gas Hydrate(NGH) extruded from die holes of Twin-roll Press for Continuous Pelletizing(TPCP). Recently, the prototype of TPCP is newly developed where ice powder is continuously fed and extruded into strip-type pellet between twin rolls. The system is specifically designed for future expansion towards mass-production of ice pellet strips or solid form of natural gas hydrate. It is shown that the compressive strength of pellet strip heavily depends on factors in extrusion process such as disk size, surface smoothness, ring size, taper shape, feeding mechanism, and rotational speed. Here, the mechanism of TPCP, along with compressive strength of pellets is discussed in terms of its feasibility for producing NGH pellets in the future.

• New & Renewable Energy
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• v.2 no.2 s.6
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• pp.102-107
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• 2006

In Japan, research and development were undertaken on gas hydrate-side industrial processes associated with power generation system connections that may particularly be necessary to develop gas hydrated technology-based industrial systems. In so doing, data and engineering technologies useful n formulating guidelines on design of practical process were accumulated. In addition, basic research into theoretical evidence were carried out to promote and support the development of technological elements for those processes. In basic research designed to promote and support the research and development of elemental technologies, microanalyses were conducted to understand the decomposition mechanism of mixed gas hydrate. Moreover, measurement technologies that can be applied in industrial processes, such as numerical analyses and concentration measurement, were examined. Japan has developed a highly efficient gas hydrate formation process using micro-bubbles with a tubular reactor. Higher formation rate over conventional systems has been obtained by the process. As mentioned above, the technical problems were clarified and the economics were studied from a view point of the NGH technology in this study. The results can be applied for utilization and must contribute to popularization of gas hydrate production.