Process selection for natural resource utilization

Abstract

Paper presented to the 10th International Conference on Heat Transfer, Fluid Mechanics and Thermodynamics, Florida, 14-16 July 2014.

An experimental investigation of natural gas hydration processes and an evaluation of the production processes of different scales from the laboratory to industrialization were used to provide methods to guide the general scientific development and natural resource utilization. In this investigation, a process evaluation parameter is introduced to evaluate a variety of processes. The analyses indicate that the process evaluation parameter is relevant to the technological level and resource consumption of the system, and the parameter has some features of the thermodynamic state functions. The process investigation shows that the parameter change can identify the direction of an actual process. Finally, the process evaluation parameter is useful to select a process, where it can be used to guide the decision-making regarding resource development and the venture forecasting of capital utilization. It is useful in science, where it can play a predictive role to guide scientific research, such as research into the renewable energy storage technology of natural gas hydrate storage. It is also useful in engineering practice, where it can play a practical role in guiding process improvements and process management.