Salt Cavern Sorbent Filling for Higher Methane Storage
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Solution Overview
Problem
The limitation of existing methane storage facilities restricts the quantity of methane that can be reserved for emergency and high-consumption periods, and the availability of salt caverns for underground storage is limited, necessitating a solution to enhance methane storage capacity.
Innovation Solution
The use of sorbent materials within engineered salt caverns to adsorb methane, reducing the need for cushion gas and increasing the volume of working gas that can be stored, along with methods to form and fill these caverns with sorbents to maximize storage capacity.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Quantity of substance
If conventional methane storage facilities are used, then the storage infrastructure is simple and easy to implement, but the storage capacity is limited and cannot meet emergency and high-consumption period requirements
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies porous sorbent materials (such as activated carbon, zeolites, or metal-organic frameworks) within the salt cavern to adsorb methane gas. These porous materials provide extremely high surface area-to-volume ratios, enabling the cavern to store up to four times more methane compared to conventional empty cavern storage. The porous structure allows methane molecules to be retained on the internal surfaces while maintaining gas flow properties.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention creates a composite storage system combining the salt cavern structure with sorbent materials. The salt formation provides the containment vessel and structural integrity, while the sorbent materials provide the adsorption capacity. This composite approach leverages the advantages of both materials to achieve enhanced storage capacity while maintaining the simplicity of underground cavern storage.
2Volume of stationary object
If salt caverns are used for methane storage, then large volume storage is achieved, but cushion gas is required to maintain cavern pressure and shape
Solution Approach 1:
The porous sorbent materials reduce the required cushion gas volume by providing adsorption sites that stabilize cavern pressure through adsorption-desorption mechanisms. When pressure drops, methane is released from the sorbent pores; when pressure rises, excess methane is adsorbed. This buffering effect reduces the amount of cushion gas needed to maintain cavern integrity.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention changes the pressure-volume relationship within the cavern by introducing sorbent materials that can dynamically adjust methane release based on pressure conditions. This alters the effective compressibility and pressure maintenance characteristics of the storage system, allowing for reduced cushion gas requirements while maintaining stable operating pressures.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
Enhances methane storage capacity up to four-fold compared to empty caverns, providing efficient and stable subterranean gas storage by supporting cavern walls with sorbents, allowing repeated use and high-pressure storage.
Implementation Method 1
The use of engineered salt caverns filled with high surface area sorbent materials allows for efficient subterranean methane storage by adsorbing methane onto the sorbents
Implementation Method 2
A dissolving fluid comprising water is injected into a salt formation to produce a brine and a salt cavern within the salt formation
Data Source
AI summary
The present disclosure is directed toward a method for storing methane. The method for storing methane comprises several steps. A dissolving fluid comprising water is injected into a salt formation to produce a brine and a salt cavern within the salt formation. The brine is then removed from the salt cavern. A sorbent is then placed within the salt cavern before methane is injected into the salt cavern.