Theses and Dissertations

Issuing Body

Mississippi State University

Advisor

Rogers, Rudy E.

Committee Member

French, W. Todd

Committee Member

Toghiani, Rebecca K.

Committee Member

Hill, Priscilla J.

Date of Degree

8-8-2009

Document Type

Graduate Thesis - Open Access

Major

Chemical Engineering

Degree Name

Master of Science

College

James Worth Bagley College of Engineering

Department

Dave C. Swalm School of Chemical Engineering

Abstract

Sediments collected from various cores in Mississippi Canyon 118 were tested to evaluate the abilities to promote natural gas hydrate formation. Memory effects for hydrate formation of sediments with in-situ seawater were of a major concern. The possible mechanisms of memory effects were combined to give an overall hypothesis on the bioproducts-mineral-microorganism system. Unique permanent memory effects in the sediment were found. Temperatures from 50 to 65°C dissipated all memory effects by disrupting microbial cell wall material. Bacillus subtilis is known to produce several types of biosurfactants, including surfactin. The catalytic effect of purified surfactin from B. subtilis on hydrate formation was studied in the presence of smectite clays. The interlayer spacings of clay minerals measured by X-ray powder diffraction indicated that hydrate formation and surfactin adsorption on the smectite clays have impacts on their structures. Laboratory gas mixture sequestering was also conducted by hydrate formation to study the various factors that may affect the separation of its hydrateorming gases. The effects of agitation, temperature, initial pressure and thermal conductors were explored.

URI

https://hdl.handle.net/11668/19402

Comments

Gas hydrate||memory effect

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