PROCESS OF PRODUCTION OF NATURAL GAS FROM GAS HYDRATES Russian patent published in 2001 - IPC

FIELD: production and primary processing of natural gas from solid gas hydrates. SUBSTANCE: process of production of natural gas from gas hydrates consists in supply of heat to zone of decomposition of gas hydrates. Heat is supplied thanks to conducting of exothermic catalytic reaction with specific heat release exceeding heat of dissociation of solid gas hydrate in zone of decomposition of gas hydrates. Oxidation or electrochemical oxidation of methane to synthesis gas or partial oxidation of methane to CO₂ and water or oxidizing dimerization of methane or oxidation of methane to methanol are utilized in the capacity of catalytic reaction. Released gas is subjected to additional chemical refining right in production zone. Conducting controlled exothermic catalytic reactions in zone of occurrence of gas hydrates makes it feasible to utilize released heat for decomposition of gas hydrates and correspondingly gives possibility of industrial production of gas from gas hydrates. Reaction products are highly valuable chemical feedstock that can be used both as fuel and as basic material for further chemical transformations. EFFECT: invention solves problem of effective supply of heat to zone of decomposition of gas hydrates and of industrial production of gas from them. 7 cl