Role of different types of water in bentonite clay on hydrate formation and decomposition

The equilibrium and kinetic of hydrate in sediments can be affected by the presence of external components like bentonite with a relatively large surface area. To investigate the hydrate formation and decomposition behaviors in bentonite clay, the experiments of methane hydrate formation and decomposition using the multi-step decomposition method in bentonite with different water contents of 20%, 40% and 60% (mass) were carried out. The contents of bound, capillary and gravity water in bentonite clay and their roles during hydrate formation and decomposition were analyzed. In bentonite with water content of 20% (mass), the hydrate formation rate keeps fast during the whole formation process, and the final gas consumption under different initial formation pressures is similar. In bentonite with the water contents of 40% and 60% (mass), the hydrate formation rate declines significantly at the later stage of the hydrate formation. The final gas consumption of bentonite with the water contents of 40% and 60% (mass) is significantly higher than that with the water content of 20% (mass). During the decomposition process, the stable pressure increases with the decrease of the water content. Hydrate mainly forms in free water in bentonite clay. In bentonite clay with the water contents of 20% and 40% (mass), the hydrate forms in capillary water. In bentonite clay with the water content of 60% (mass), the hydrate forms both in capillary water and gravity water. The bound water of dry bentonite clay is about 3.93% (mass) and the content of capillary water ranges from 42.37% to 48.21% (mass) of the dry bentonite clay.