MAHARASHTRA STATE BOARD OF TECHNICAL EDUCATION

GOVERNMENT POLYTECHNIC, JALGAON

(0018)
Program Name and Code: Electrical Engineering (EE3I)

Course Name and Code : Electrical Power Generation (22327)

Academic Year : 2023-2024

Semester : Third

A MICRO PROJECT
On
COLLECT INFORMATION AND PREPARE
A REPORT & PPT ON METHANE
HYDRATES

Submitted In 2023 by the group of 5 students

Sr Roll Name Enrollment Seat no.
No. no. No.
1 7 CHOPADE VRUSHABH
UMAKANT
2200180584
2 8 DAUD BHARAT BHIMRAV
2200180585
3 10 FEGADE ATHARV RAJESH
2200180588
4 11 HARSHRAJ NITIN ASMAR
2200180589
5 12 HIRAY DNYANESHWAR VIJAY
2200180590

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 MAHARASHTRA STATE BOARD OF
TECHNICAL EDUCATION
CERTIFICATE

This is to certify that Master……………………………………………………

Roll No……. of……………Semester of Diploma in……………………………
of Institute, Government Polytechnic, Jalgaon (Code:0018) has completed the
Micro Project satisfactorily in the Subject – Electrical Power Generation
(22327).

for the Academic Year …………. as prescribed in the curriculum.

Place: …………………… Enrollment No: …………………………………….

Date: ……………………. Exam. Seat No: …………………………………….

Subject Teacher Head of the Department Principal

Seal of
Institutio
n

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 GOVTERNMENT POLYTECHNIC
JALGAON

-SUBMISSION-

I……………………………………………………………Roll No ……
as a student of …………. Sem/Year of the Programme
……………………………………………. humbly submit that I have completed
from time to time the Practical/Micro-Project work as described in this report by
my own skills and study between the period from ……………………… to
……………………... as per instructions/guidance of Prof S.R. Saraf.
And that following students were associated with me for this work;
however, quantum of my contribution has been approved by the Lecturer.
And that I have not copied the report on its any appreciable part from any
other literature in contravention of the academic ethics.

Date: ……/……/2023 Signature of Student

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 Evaluation Sheet for the Micro Project

Academic Year: 2023-2024 Name of the Faculty: S.R. Saraf.

Course: EPG Course code: 22327 Semester: III
Title of the project: Methane Hydrates: An
emerging energy source for power generation

COs addressed by Micro Project:

A.
B..
C..

Major learning outcomes achieved by students by doing the project

(a) Practical outcome:
(b) Unit outcomes in Cognitive domain: (c) Outcomes in
Affective domain:
Comments/suggestions about team work /leadership/inter-personal
communication (if any)
…………………………………………………………………………………

Marks out of Marks out of

6 for 4for
Roll Student Name performance performance Total out
No in group in oral/ of 10
activity (D5 presentation
Col.8) (D5 Col.9)

(Signature of Faculty)

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WEEKLY PROGRESS REPORT
SR.NO. WEEK ACTIVITY PERFORMED

1 Week 1 Discussion

2 Week 2 Finalization of topic

3 Week 3 Preparation and submission of Abstract

4 Week 4 Literature Review

5 Week 5 Collection of Data

6 Week 6 Collection of Data

7 Week 7 Collection of Data

8 Week 8 Discussion and outline of Content

9 Week 9 Formulation of Content

10 Week 10 Editing

11 Week 11 Review of Content

12 Week 12 Compilation of Presentation

13 Week 13 Compilation of Report

14 Week 14 Presentation

15 Week 15 Viva voce

16 Week 16 Final submission of Microproject

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 ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

The development of this Micro project might not have been possible without
considerable guidance and support. So, we would like to acknowledge to all those
who have enable us to complete this project.

Firstly, we would like to thank our project guide Prof S.R. Saraf and Head of
Department for providing the guideline with continuous advice and feedback
throughout the duration of designing this project. We also thank to the Dr. Parag
Patil (Principal of Government Polytechnic, Jalgaon) for providing us this golden
opportunity to embark on this project.

Secondly, we would also like to thank all other staff members of EE department
that we may have called upon for assistance since the genesis of this project, their
opinion and suggestion have helped us in drafting this project.

Last but not the least, we would like to thank all our friends for their valuable
opinions’ and sharing ideas during the development of this project.

Finally, we would like to thank our families for their understanding,

encouragement and support towards the completion of project.

Thank you

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 “Methane Hydrates: An emerging
energy source for power
generation”

INDEX:
Sr. Topic Page
no no.
1 Introduction to methane hydrates 8
2 What is methane hydrates 8
3 Where are methane hydrates deposits 9
4 How are methane hydrates produced 10
5 Methane hydrates as an energy source 11
6 The U.S department of energy’s methane hydrate R&D program 12

7 International efforts 13
8 Key accomplishments 15
9 Advantages 16
10 Disadvantages 16
11 Application 17
12 Conclusion 17
13 References 17

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 INTRODUCTION

Recently, a study on biogenic methane hydrate in the Krishna-Godavari (KG) Basin was
conducted by the researchers at the Agharkar Research Institute (ARI), an autonomous institute
of the Department of Science and Technology, Government of India. Scientists have said that
the massive methane hydrate deposits of biogenic origin in the Krishna-Godavari (KG)
basin and near the coast of Andaman and Mahanadi make it necessary to study the associated
methanogenic community. Even the lowest estimate of methane present in the methane
hydrates in KG Basin is twice that of all fossil fuel reserves available worldwide.

• Methane hydrate deposits are believed to be a larger hydrocarbon resource than all of
the world's oil, natural gas and coal resources combined.
• The current challenge is to inventory this resource and find safe, economical ways to
develop it.

WHAT IS METHANE HYDRATE?

• Methane hydrate is a crystalline solid that consists of a methane molecule surrounded

by a cage of interlocking water molecules.
• Methane hydrate is an "ice" that only occurs naturally in subsurface deposits where
temperature and pressure conditions are favourable for its formation.
• Most methane hydrate deposits also contain small amounts of other hydrocarbon
hydrates.

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 WHERE ARE THE METHANE HYDRATE DEPOSITS?

Four Earth environments have the temperature and pressure conditions suitable for the
formation and stability of methane hydrate. These are:

1) sediment and sedimentary rock units below Arctic permafrost;

2) sedimentary deposits along continental margins;

3) deep-water sediments of inland lakes and seas; and,

4) under Antarctic ice.

With the exception of the Antarctic deposits, methane hydrate accumulations are not very deep
below Earth's surface.

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 HOW ARE METHANE HYDRATES PRODUCED?

• Methane gas is primarily formed by microorganisms (methanogens) that live in the

deep sediment layers and slowly convert organic substances to methane.

• These organic materials are the remains of plankton that lived in the ocean long ago,
sank to the ocean floor, and were finally incorporated into the sediments.

• Methane hydrate is formed when hydrogen-bonded water and methane gas come into
contact at high pressures and low temperatures in oceans.

• But with increasing depth into the thick sediment layers on the sea floor, the
temperatures begin to rise again because of the proximity to the Earth’s interior. In
sediment depths greater than about 1 kilometre the temperatures rise to over 30 degrees
Celsius, so that no methane hydrates can be deposited.

• First, small methane gas bubbles are produced deep within the sediment.

• So, the methane is formed in the deep warm sediment horizons and is converted and
consolidated as methane hydrate in the cold upper sediment layers.

• No methane hydrates are found in marginal seas and shelf areas because the pressure at
the sea floor is not sufficient to stabilize the hydrates.
•
• At the bottom of the expansive ocean basins, on the other hand, where the pressure is
great enough, scarcely any hydrates are found because there is insufficient organic
matter embedded in the deep-sea sediments.

• Methane hydrates therefore occur mainly near the continental margins at water depths
between 350 and 5000 metres.

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 METHANE HYDRATES AS AN ENERGY SOURCE

• The worldwide volume of methane held in methane hydrate is immense. A frequently

quoted estimate of the global methane hydrate resource is 20,000 trillion cubic meters,
or about 700,000 Tcf.
• It is important to point out, however, that only a small portion of this enormous resource
is likely to be harvested as an energy fuel.
• Gas hydrates have the potential to provide significant supplies of clean-burning
domestic natural gas to meet future energy needs.
• The largest domestic resources are estimated to be present in Alaska and the Gulf of
Mexico. The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) in 2008 estimated there are about 85
trillion cubic feet of undiscovered, technically recoverable gas resources in gas hydrates
in northern Alaska.

• In the Gulf of Mexico, marine in-place gas hydrate resources in the most favourable
reservoir settings have recently been assessed by the Bureau of Ocean Energy
Management (BOEM) at more than 6,000 trillion cubic feet, and a 2012 report from
BOEM indicated large potential resources off the U.S. Atlantic and Pacific coasts as
well.

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THE U.S. DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY’S METHANE HYDRATE R&D
PROGRAM
• Since the passage of the Methane Hydrate Research and Development Act of 2000, the
DOE has led, through its Office of Fossil Energy and the National Energy Technology
Laboratory, a coordinated Methane Hydrate R&D Program in collaboration with other
federal agencies, universities, industry, and international partners.
• The DOE program mission is to collaborate with international entities and with other
U.S. government agencies to advance the scientific understanding of gas hydrates as
they occur in nature.
• More specifically, the program aims to develop a comprehensive understanding of the
resource potential of methane hydrates and the role that hydrates may play in climate
change. In keeping with this mission, the current program is structured to advance along
three paths.

• The first path is to confirm the scale and nature of the potentially recoverable resource
through drilling and coring programs.
• The second is to develop the technologies to safely and efficiently find, characterize,
and recover methane from hydrates through a combination of field testing, numerical
simulation, and controlled laboratory experimentation.

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 INTERNATIONAL EFFORTS
• The DOE FE Methane Hydrate Program has collaborated on major international field
efforts in recent years, primarily with international hydrate programs in Japan, India,
South Korea, and New Zealand. This effort was in support of a research voyage
conducted by the New Zealand Gas Hydrates Resources Program to collect acoustic,
seismic, and piston cores.
• The Japan Oil and Gas Metals Corporation has led several international methane
hydrate R&D efforts, with critical contributions from the FE Hydrate Program.

• The United States and Japan also collaborated on the Ignik Sikumi Field Trial in Alaska,
and the two countries signed an agreement in 2014 to cooperate on additional gas
hydrate production testing on state lands on the North Slope of Alaska.
• The government of India has also been active in gas hydrate R&D over the past decade,
with substantial involvement of the U.S. DOE, USGS, and BOEM.
• The Indian government led a collaborative drilling and coring program in the Arabian
Sea, Bay of Bengal, and Andaman Islands in the past. More recently, Indian scientists
have been planning additional drilling locations in deeper water locations for methane
hydrate production testing. The USGS has played a pivotal role in planning and
executing India’s gas hydrate R&D efforts.

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 KEY ACCOMPLISHMENTS
Some key accomplishments of the FE Methane Hydrate R&D Program to date include:
• Confirmation of the ability to reliably detect and characterize gas hydrate
accumulations prior to drilling, using seismic and well log information.
• Confirmation of the occurrence of resource-quality gas hydrate accumulations in the
Gulf of Mexico.
• Acquisition of data in Alaska that has enabled the first quantification of technically-
recoverable resource volumes from gas hydrates.
• Development of new tools to enable measurement of the physical properties of gas
hydrate-bearing sediment samples acquired in the field.
• Characterization of potential testing sites on the Alaska North Slope, including the
drilling and evaluation at the Ignik Sikumi test site in 2011 and a 3-month production
trial of CO2 -CH4 exchange technology during early 2012.
• Development of collaborative agreements with leading global gas hydrate research
programs.

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 ADVANTAGES
• Abundant resource: Methane hydrates are estimated to hold vast amounts of natural
gas, making them a potentially abundant energy source.
• Clean burning fuel: Methane, the primary component of methane hydrates, burns
cleaner than other fossil fuels, releasing fewer greenhouse gas emissions and
pollutants.
• Energy efficiency: Methane hydrates have a high energy density, meaning they
contain a large amount of energy per unit of volume. This makes them an efficient
fuel source.
• Economic potential: The extraction and utilization of methane hydrates could create
new economic opportunities, including job creation and revenue generation.
• Energy security: Access to methane hydrates can enhance a country's energy security
by reducing dependence on imported fossil fuels.
• Carbon capture potential: Methane hydrates can potentially be used to capture and
store carbon dioxide, helping to mitigate climate change by reducing greenhouse gas
emissions.
• Reduced environmental impact: Compared to traditional extraction methods for
fossil fuels, methane hydrate extraction may have a lower environmental impact, as it
does not involve extensive drilling or mining operations.
• Potential for offshore development: Methane hydrates are often found in marine
sediments, offering the possibility for offshore extraction and reducing land-based
environmental impacts.
• Research opportunities: The study and exploration of methane hydrates provide
valuable scientific insights into the Earth's geology and the potential for alternative
energy sources.

DIADVANTAGES
• Environmental concerns: While methane hydrates themselves may have a lower
environmental impact compared to traditional extraction methods, the process of
extracting and utilizing them can still have negative environmental consequences. For
example, the release of methane during extraction and transportation can contribute to
climate change as methane is a potent greenhouse gas.
• Technological challenges: The extraction of methane hydrates is a complex and
technically challenging process. The technology required to extract and convert them
into usable energy is still under development and may require significant investment
and research.
• High costs: The exploration, extraction, and processing of methane hydrates can be
expensive. The high costs associated with developing the necessary infrastructure and
technology may make it economically unfeasible in some regions.
• Limited knowledge: Despite ongoing research, there is still limited knowledge about
the long-term environmental impacts and potential risks associated with methane
hydrate extraction and utilization. More research is needed to fully understand the
implications of large-scale commercial production.

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 APPLICATION

• Energy production: Methane hydrates can be extracted and converted into natural gas,
which can then be used for energy production. This can help meet growing energy
demands and reduce reliance on fossil fuels.
• Renewable energy integration: Methane hydrates can be used as a transitional energy
source while renewable energy technologies are further developed and deployed on a
larger scale.
• Economic development: The development of methane hydrates can stimulate economic
growth through job creation, infrastructure development, and investment opportunities
in the energy sector.
• Research and development: The study of methane hydrates can contribute to scientific
knowledge and technological advancements in the fields of energy extraction, storage,
and utilization.
• International collaboration: The study and development of methane hydrates can foster
international collaboration and cooperation in research, technology sharing, and
resource management, promoting global sustainable development.

CONCLUSION
Successful field programs in the United States and in offshore regions of Japan, India, and
Korea have served to confirm the presence of the hydrate resource and, in some instances, to
demonstrate the technical feasibility of producing methane from hydrate deposits.
Thus, it is quite clear that methane hydrates could be the ultimate source of energy the
mankind has been searching for ages. By this we conclude that in the upcoming decades
when fossil fuels would run out, methane hydrates would emerge as the new alternate fuel for
all humanity because of its feasibility.

REFERENCES

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0196890410000701
National energy technology laboratory (U.S department of energy)
https://geology.com/articles/methane-hydrates/
https://pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/acs.energyfuels.2c00338
https://worldoceanreview.com/en/wor-1/energy/methane-hydrates/

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