--- In [email protected], "johnlasher20002000" <johnlasher20002...@...> wrote: > > What is going on? The BP oil spill could be stopped tomorrow.
Uh, no. FYI, there's a description of the latest procedure here: http://www.bp.com/genericarticle.do?categoryId=9033657&contentId=7062491 http://tinyurl.com/2v2maf6 Specifically: "Lines carrying methanol also are connected to the device to help stop hydrate formation." BP is well aware of methane chemistry. With the earlier attempt using the big containment dome, they expected crystals to form but not so early in the process. Remember, none of this has ever been attempted before. > I can't believe that the BP scientists don't know that if they heated the > containment bell to a modest 20 degrees centigrade the methane hydrate > crystals would not block the opening to the containment vessel. Merely > embedding electric heating elements would be one way to accomplish this. The > Methane clathrate correlating pressure and temperature is not esoteric > knowledge. There is a chart on Wikipedia > http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Methane_clathrate . A depth of approximately > 5000 ft and a temperature of 4 degrees Centigrade is clearly in the range > where the methane hydrate crystals form, as indeed they did. Lowering a bell > heated to 20 centigrade would prevent the methane hydrate crystals from > forming and would allow the oil to flow. This is elementary chemistry. Why > hasn't BP done this?
