As part of establishing a Centre for Gas Hydrate Research with support from SHEFC, our gas hydrate laboratory (Hydrate Lab-1) has been completely refurbished, and is equipped with state-of-the-art equipment and facilities.
A second laboratory, Hydrate Lab-2, is now completed, effectively trebling lab space, and allowing continued expansion of the group and experimental facilities.
The laboratory currently houses eleven hydrate equilibrium rigs, all of which were designed and built in-house. The equipment has capabilities for kinetic studies, phase boundary and compositional measurements, and visual observation of gas hydrate systems.
Specialist rigs have been designed for the study of hydrates in sediments, including measurement of hydrate stability in porous media, acoustic response of sediments containing hydrates, and visual observation of hydrate behaviour at the pore scale.
New quartz crystal microbalance (QCM) technology has been adapted for the study of wax and mixed wax-hydrate systems.
Current experimental set-ups
- Hydrate Rig-1
- Kinetic Rig-1
- Kinetic Rig-2
- Kinetic Rig-3
- Kinetic Rig-4
- Constant Volume High Pressure Quartz Crystal Microbalance Rig
- Constant Volume Low Pressure Quartz Crystal Microbalance Rig
- Variable Volume High Pressure Quartz Crystal Microbalance Rig
- Porous Media Rig
- Medium Pressure Micromodel Rig
- High Pressure Micromodel Rig
- Ultrasonic Rig
- Wax-Hydrate Visual Rig
- Ultra High Pressure Rig