On May 18, the CPC Central Committee and the State Council telegraphed congratulations on the successful trial production of natural gas hydrates in China's sea areas. With the media coverage, mobile phones burst the screen. So what is combustible ice? What is its development prospect? What is China's position in the research and development level of combustible ice? And so on. The author will publish a series of articles in order to let readers have a clear understanding of combustible ice.
Combustible ice, the scientific name of natural gas hydrate, is a kind of ice like crystal compound formed by natural gas and water under the condition of high pressure and low temperature. In appearance, it is like a white or light gray ice crystal, but it can be ignited like solid alcohol, so it is called 'combustible ice'.
The energy density of combustible ice is very high. Under the same conditions, it produces dozens of times more energy than coal, oil and natural gas. In fact, one cubic meter of combustible ice can decompose and release more than 160 cubic meters of natural gas. Because of the high energy density, if a car using natural gas as fuel can run 300 kilometers by adding 100 liters of natural gas at a time, then the car can run 50000 kilometers by adding the same volume of combustible ice.
As combustible ice is a compound of natural gas and water, only a small amount of carbon dioxide and water will be produced after combustion. Compared with the traditional fossil energy such as coal and oil, it is a real green energy, which is known as "the most promising green and clean strategic energy source for commercial development in the 21st century".