Patent ID: 8354565

Claim:
A method of forming a gas hydrate, where the gas hydrate is comprised of water and a hydrate-forming gas, comprising: injecting the water into a mixing zone at a water injection rate; admitting a gaseous stream comprised of the hydrate-forming gas into the mixing zone at a gas injection rate, and maintaining the gas injection rate relative to the water injection rate such that the water and the hydrate-forming gas mix in the mixing zone and form a water-gas mixture in the mixing zone, where the water-gas mixture is comprised of bubbles of the hydrate-forming gas separated by an interstitial water, where the interstitial water is comprised of the water, and where the water-gas mixture has a water-gas pressure; and spraying the water-gas mixture through an orifice into a reaction zone such that the water-gas mixture enters the reaction zone as a plurality of water-gas droplets, where the water-gas droplets are comprised of the hydrate-forming gas surrounded by a film of the water, and where the reaction zone has a reaction zone pressure and a reaction zone temperature, where the reaction zone temperature is less than or equal to the equilibrium hydrate formation temperature for the gas hydrate at the reaction zone pressure, and where the reaction zone pressure is sufficiently less than the water-gas pressure such the hydrate-forming gas comprising the plurality of water-gas droplets expands, and the expansion of the hydrate-forming gas cools and maintains at least some portion of the plurality of water-gas droplets at a hydrate forming temperature, where the hydrate forming temperature is less than or equal to the equilibrium hydrate formation temperature for the gas hydrate at the reaction zone pressure, such that some portion of the water and some portion of the hydrate-forming gas comprising the plurality of water-gas droplets form the gas hydrate in the reaction zone, thereby forming the gas hydrate, where the gas hydrate is comprised of water and the hydrate-forming gas.