Technology readiness level of gas hydrate technologies
Peter Englezos
Abstract
Abstract Gas or clathrate hydrates are non‐stoichiometric crystalline materials known primarily for the operational and safety problems they pose during hydrocarbon processing as well as a potential source of unconventional natural gas. Gas hydrates also have a variety of other applications, mostly representing opportunities for technology development such as gas separations and seawater desalination. This dual nature of gas hydrates is best represented by the two faces of a Janus particle. Although the research on the various gas hydrate‐based technologies has been reviewed, the focus has been on the phase equilibrium and kinetic data needed for process design. On the other hand, the status of the technologies in terms of their commercialization has not been methodically assessed. In this work, we employ the nine‐level technology readiness level (TRL) tool to classify the various technologies that are based on gas hydrate crystallization. A brief review of the current status of the technologies is presented first, followed by the status of each one on the TRL scale.