Experimental Study of the Process of Dissociation of Methane Hydrate Accompanied by Its Combustion

In this work, the process of dissociation of methane hydrate obtained under laboratory conditions in the form of a loose shapeless mass and in a pressed granular form, placed on a warm surface and on a surface covered with a thin layer of water, including the initiation of combustion of the gas released during the dissociation process, was experimentally studied. The rate of dissociation, the characteristic time of complete decomposition, and the proportion of water evaporating over a given time were determined for all cases considered. Based on the analysis of the dynamics of temperature ranges, as well as data illustrating the rate of mass loss by the sample, it was assumed that the process of dissociation of granular hydrate, both in the case without combustion and in the case of combustion, is accompanied by the phenomenon of self-preservation, which is not observed for loose hydrate.