Patent ID: 8921626

Claim:
A method for operating a plant for producing a mixed-gas hydrate, wherein the plant includes a gas hydrate generation tank having a first gas phase part, and processing equipment downstream of the gas hydrate generation tank, the processing equipment having a second gas phase part in fluid communication with the first gas phase part, the method comprising the steps of: generating a mixed gas hydrate in the gas hydrate generation tank, the first gas phase part having a gas phase therein during the generating step; processing the mixed-gas hydrate in the processing equipment downstream of the gas hydrate generation, the second gas phase part having a gas phase therein during the processing step; and forcibly circulating the gas phase from the first gas phase part to the second gas phase part, and then back to the first gas phase part, during the generating and processing steps, to make the gas phase within the second gas phase part during the processing step have the same equilibrium composition as that of the gas phase within the first gas phase part during the generating step.