Hydrate-based desalination/purification using permeable support member

• US 20030209492A1
• Filed: 05/06/2003
• Published: 11/13/2003
• Est. Priority Date: 05/08/2002
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Water Generating Systems I, LLC
• Original Assignee: Marine Desalination Systems LLC
• Inventors: Max, Michael D.
• Granted Patent: US 7,008,544 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 210/638
• CPC Class Codes: C02F 1/22 by freezing
• CPC Class Codes: C02F 1/26 by extraction
• CPC Class Codes: C02F 2103/08 Seawater, e.g. for desalination
• CPC Class Codes: Y02A 20/124 Water desalination

Abstract

Processes and apparatus are disclosed for separating and purifying aqueous solutions such as seawater by causing a substantially impermeable mat of gas hydrate to form on a porous restraint. Once the mat of gas hydrate has formed on the porous restraint, the portion of the mat of gas hydrate adjacent to the restraint is caused to dissociate and flow through the restraint, e.g., by lowering the pressure in a collection region on the opposite side of the restraint. The purified or desalinated water may then be recovered from the collection region. The process may be used for marine desalination as well as for drying wet gas and hydrocarbon solutions. If conditions in the solution are not conductive to forming hydrate, a heated or refrigerated porous restraint may be used to create hydrate-forming conditions near the restraint, thereby causing gas hydrates to form directly on the surface of the restraint.

Claims

1. A method for separating components of a fluid system, said fluid system being 1) a solution comprising a solute dissolved in a solvent, 2) a suspension comprising solid material suspended within a suspension suspending fluid, or 3) an emulsion comprising liquid material suspended within an emulsion suspending fluid, said method comprising:

causing or allowing clathrate to form within said fluid system, said clathrate having a crystalline structure comprising one or more guest molecules disposed within a cage structure formed from a plurality of host molecules, and causing or allowing a generally solid layer of said clathrate to form along a surface of a permeable restraint, at least one of said guest molecules and said host molecules being supplied to said clathrate from said fluid system and said generally solid layer of said clathrate containing minimal amounts, if any, of residual fluid remaining after said hydrate has formed, said permeable restraint being configured to allow said host molecules and said guest molecules to pass through it upon dissociation of said clathrate and said generally solid layer of clathrate substantially isolating said fluid system, per se, from said permeable restraint such that said fluid system does not pass through said permeable restraint;

causing portions of said generally solid layer of clathrate that are adjacent to said surface of said permeable restraint to dissociate such that said host molecules and said guest molecules pass through said permeable restraint to a collection region that is located across said permeable restraint from said surface thereof, and

collecting said host molecules and/or said guest molecules from said collection region;

whereby the collected molecules are collected in a relatively purified condition that is substantially free from said residual fluid and/or undesired components of said fluid system.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein said clathrate is a gas clathrate.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein said clathrate is a hydrate.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein said clathrate is a gas hydrate.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein said fluid system is saline water, said clathrate is gas hydrate, and said residual fluid is residual brine.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein said fluid system is polluted or contaminated water and said clathrate is gas hydrate.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein said fluid system comprises petroleum or other fluid hydrocarbon and water suspended therein, said water being either free or bound up in gas hydrate.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein said fluid system comprises a metaliferous brine.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein said guest molecules are introduced into said fluid system under conditions conducive to spontaneous formation of said clathrate such that said clathrate forms spontaneously upon said introduction of said guest molecules, said clathrate being formed from said guest molecules and a fluid component of said fluid system.

10. The method of claim 9, wherein said fluid system is saline water, said solvent is water, said guest molecules are gas molecules, said clathrate is gas hydrate, and said residual fluid is residual brine.

11. The method of claim 1, wherein said guest molecules are introduced into or are previously contained within said fluid system and said clathrate is caused to form by cooling at least a portion of said fluid system, said clathrate being formed from said guest molecules and a fluid component of said fluid system.

12. The method of claim 11, wherein said permeable restraint comprises a cooling system and is used to cool said at least part of said fluid system to cause said clathrate to form within said fluid system.

13. The method of claim 11, wherein said clathrate is caused to form directly on said surface of said permeable restraint.

14. The method of claim 11, wherein said permeable restraint comprises a cooling system and is used to cool said at least part of said fluid system to cause said clathrate to form directly on said surface of said permeable restraint.

15. The method of claim 11, wherein said fluid system is saline water, said solvent is water, said guest molecules are gas molecules, said clathrate is gas hydrate, and said residual fluid is residual brine.

16. The method of claim 11, wherein said guest molecules from which said clathrate is formed are introduced into said fluid system at or approximately at the same time as said clathrate is caused to form.

17. The method of claim 11, further comprising pre-treating said fluid system with said guest molecules such that said guest molecules are dissolved in said solvent, said suspension suspending fluid, or said emulsion suspending fluid substantially before said clathrate is caused to form.

18. The method of claim 17, wherein said solvent, said suspension suspending fluid, or said emulsion suspending fluid is saturated or super-saturated with said guest molecules substantially before said clathrate is caused to form.

19. The method of claim 11, wherein said fluid system is sewage, said suspension suspending fluid or said emulsion suspending fluid is water, said guest molecules are gas molecules, said clathrate is gas hydrate, and said residual fluid is condensed sewage.

20. The method of claim 19, wherein said gas molecules from which said gas hydrate is formed are molecules of gas which ordinarily exists within sewage.

21. The method of claim 11, wherein said fluid system is an emulsion and said fluid component of said fluid system from which said clathrate is formed is said emulsion suspending fluid.

22. The method of claim 11, wherein said fluid system is an emulsion and said fluid component of said fluid system from which said clathrate is formed is said liquid material.

23. The method of claim 1, wherein said causing portions of said generally solid layer of clathrate that are adjacent to said surface of said permeable restraint to dissociate comprises subjecting said portions of said generally solid layer of clathrate to reduced pressure conditions under which said clathrate becomes unstable and dissociates into said host molecules and said gas molecules.

24. The method of claim 23, wherein pressure conditions in said collection region are reduced and said reduced pressure conditions act on said portions of said generally solid layer of clathrate through said permeable restraint.

25. The method of claim 1, wherein said causing portions of said generally solid layer of clathrate that are adjacent to said surface of said permeable restraint to dissociate comprises heating said portions of said generally solid layer of clathrate.

26. The method of claim 25, wherein said permeable restraint comprises a heating system and is used to heat said portions of said generally solid layer of clathrate.

27. The method of claim 1, wherein said method is controlled such that further clathrate is formed at or joins a surface of said generally solid layer of clathrate that is opposite to said portions of said layer of clathrate that are adjacent to said surface of said permeable restraint at essentially the same rate as said portions of said layer of clathrate that are adjacent to said permeable restrain dissociate.

28. The method of claim 1, wherein said permeable restraint is generally planar and is oriented horizontally, wherein said surface of said permeable restraint is a lower surface of said permeable restraint, and wherein said clathrate is positively buoyant relative to said fluid system and floats up and into contact with said lower surface of said permeable restraint or a lower surface of said generally solid layer of clathrate.

29. The method of claim 1, wherein said permeable restraint is generally planar and is oriented horizontally, wherein said surface of said permeable restraint is an upper surface of said permeable restraint, and wherein said clathrate is negatively buoyant relative to said fluid system and sinks or settles down and into contact with said upper surface of said permeable restraint or an upper surface of said generally solid layer of clathrate.

30. The method of claim 1, wherein said generally solid layer of said clathrate is caused to form along said surface of said permeable restraint by actively causing said clathrate to migrate within said fluid system toward said permeable restraint.

31. The method of claim 30, wherein said clathrate is caused to migrate toward said permeable restraint by means of centrifugal forces.

32. The method of claim 31, wherein said centrifugal forces are created within said fluid system by causing said fluid system to rotate.

33. The method of claim 32, wherein said fluid system is disposed in surrounding relation to said permeable restraint, said clathrate is positively buoyant relative to said fluid system, and said fluid system is caused to migrate radially outwardly and said clathrate is caused to migrate radially inwardly toward said permeable restraint by means of said centrifugal forces.

34. The method of claim 32, wherein said permeable restraint is disposed in surrounding relation to said fluid system, said clathrate is negatively buoyant relative to said fluid system, and said fluid system is caused to migrate radially inwardly and said clathrate is caused to migrate radially outwardly toward said permeable restraint by means of said centrifugal forces.

35. The method of claim 1, wherein both of said guest molecules and said host molecules are collected after said portions of said layer of clathrate dissociate.

36. The method of claim 35, wherein one of said guest molecules and said host molecules is recycled for further use in forming further clathrate.

37. The method of claim 1, wherein said clathrate forms in a clathrate formation region in which said fluid system is disposed and in which temperature conditions and pressure conditions are conducive to formation of said clathrate.

38. The method of claim 37, wherein the method is practiced in a naturally occurring body of said fluid system and said fluid system naturally enters said clathrate formation region from said naturally occurring body of said fluid system.

39. The method of claim 38, wherein said temperature conditions conducive to formation of said clathrate exist naturally within regions of said naturally occurring body of said fluid system in which the method is practiced.

40. The method of claim 38, wherein said pressure conditions conducive to formation of said clathrate exist naturally within regions of said naturally occurring body of said fluid system in which the method is practiced.

41. The method of claim 38, wherein said temperature conditions conducive to formation of said clathrate are at least partially obtained by cooling said fluid system within said clathrate formation region.

42. The method of claim 37, wherein the method is practiced in a man-made containment vessel, said clathrate formation region is disposed within said containment vessel, and said fluid system is caused to be introduced into said clathrate formation region.

43. The method of claim 42, wherein said temperature conditions conducive to formation of said clathrate are at least partially obtained by cooling said fluid system within said clathrate formation region.

44. The method of claim 42, wherein said man-made containment vessel is a pressure vessel and wherein said pressure conditions conducive to formation of said clathrate are artificially generated.

45. The method of claim 42, wherein said man-made containment vessel is a shaft and wherein said pressure conditions conducive to formation of said clathrate are generated by the weight of a column of said fluid system disposed within said shaft.

46. Apparatus for separating components of a fluid system, said fluid system being 1) a solution comprising a solute dissolved in a solvent, 2) a suspension comprising solid material suspended within a suspension suspending fluid, or 3) an emulsion comprising liquid material suspended within an emulsion suspending fluid, said apparatus being configured to use clathrate having a crystalline structure comprising one or more guest molecules disposed within a cage structure formed from a plurality of host molecules to separate said components of said fluid system, said apparatus comprising:

a containment vessel;

a permeable restraint disposed within said containment vessel and dividing said containment vessel into a clathrate formation and/or accumulation region on one side of said permeable restraint and a collection region on an opposite side of said permeable restraint, said permeable restraint being configured to allow said host molecules and said guest molecules to pass through it from said clathrate formation and/or accumulation region and into said collection region upon dissociation of clathrate against said permeable restraint;

an inlet for introducing said fluid system into said clathrate formation and/or accumulation region;

an outlet for removing residual fluid remaining in said clathrate formation and/or accumulation region after clathrate has formed therein and/or dissociated against said permeable restraint;

means for inducing a layer of clathrate that, during operation of said apparatus, has formed on or accumulated against a side of said permeable restraint facing said clathrate formation and/or accumulation region to dissociate into said host molecules and said guest molecules such that said host molecules and said guest molecules can pass through said permeable restraint and into said collection region; and

an outlet for collecting said host molecules and an outlet for collecting said guest molecules from said collection region.

47. The apparatus of claim 46, wherein said means for inducing comprises means for heating the side of said permeable restraint on which or against which said layer of clathrate has formed or accumulated.

48. The apparatus of claim 47, wherein said means for heating comprises a series of heating passages disposed within or on said permeable restraint.

49. The apparatus of claim 47, wherein said means for heating comprises resistance heaters.

50. The apparatus of claim 47, wherein said means for heating comprises Pelletier thermoelectric effect heaters.

51. The apparatus of claim 47, wherein said means for heating comprises magnetocaloric devices.

52. The apparatus of claim 46, wherein said permeable restraint has a plurality of pores extending through it from said one side thereof to said opposite side thereof.

53. The apparatus of claim 52, wherein said pores are conical, with the diameter of said pores decreasing from said one side of said permeable restraint to said opposite side of said permeable restraint.

54. The apparatus of claim 52, wherein said means for inducing comprises means for reducing pressure within said collection region during operation of said apparatus, the reduced pressure within said collection region acting on said layer of hydrate through said pores.

55. The apparatus of claim 54, wherein said means for reducing pressure comprises one or more pressure-reducing pumps.

56. The apparatus of claim 54, wherein said means for reducing pressure comprises one or more pumps disposed in fluid communication with said collection region via said outlet for collecting said host molecules.

57. The apparatus of claim 54, wherein said means for reducing pressure comprises one or more pumps disposed in fluid communication with said collection region via said outlet for collecting said guest molecules.

58. The apparatus of claim 46, wherein said permeable restraint comprises a cooling system.

59. The apparatus of claim 58, wherein said cooling system comprises a plurality of cooling passages extending through said permeable restraint.

60. The apparatus of claim 59, wherein said cooling passages circulate cooling fluid therein.

61. The apparatus of claim 59, wherein said cooling passages contain Pelletier thermoelectric effect cooling members.

62. The apparatus of claim 59, wherein said cooling passages contain magnetocaloric effect cooling devices.

63. The apparatus of claim 46, wherein said permeable restraint has a plurality of pores extending through it from said one side thereof to said opposite side thereof and wherein said permeable restraint comprises a cooling system comprising a plurality of cooling passages extending through said restraint, said cooling passages being arranged so as to extend in between said plurality of pores and generally parallel with the sides of said permeable restraint.

64. The apparatus of claim 46, wherein said permeable restraint comprises a heating system.

65. The apparatus of claim 64, wherein said heating system comprises a plurality of heating passages extending through said permeable restraint.

66. The apparatus of claim 65, wherein said heating passages circulate heating fluid therein.

67. The apparatus of claim 65, wherein said heating passages have resistance heaters disposed therein.

68. The apparatus of claim 65, wherein said heating passages have Pelletier thermoelectric effect heaters disposed therein.

69. The apparatus of claim 65, wherein said heating passages have magnetocaloric heaters disposed therein.

70. The apparatus of claim 46, wherein said permeable restraint has a plurality of pores extending through it from said one side thereof to said opposite side thereof and wherein said permeable restraint comprises a heating system comprising a plurality of heating passages extending through said restraint, said heating passages being arranged so as to extend in between said plurality of pores and generally parallel with the sides of said permeable restraint.

71. The apparatus of claim 46, wherein said apparatus is configured such that said clathrate formation and/or accumulation region and said collection region are vertically disposed relative to each other.

72. The apparatus of claim 71, wherein said permeable restraint is generally planar and horizontally oriented and wherein said permeable restraint extends across said containment vessel to divide said containment vessel into said clathrate formation and/or accumulation region and said collection region.

73. The apparatus of claim 71, wherein said clathrate formation and/or accumulation region is disposed above said collection region and wherein said apparatus is configured for use with negatively buoyant clathrate which sinks or settles toward said permeable restraint to form said layer of clathrate.

74. The apparatus of claim 71, wherein said clathrate formation and/or accumulation region is disposed below said collection region and wherein said apparatus is configured for use with positively buoyant clathrate which rises toward said permeable restraint to form said layer of clathrate.

75. The apparatus of claim 46, wherein said permeable restraint is a contoured restraint which has an interior lumen or cavity formed therein, said apparatus being configured such that in operation, said permeable restraint is immersed in and surrounded by said fluid system with the region of space exterior to said permeable restraint and bounded at least in part by walls of said containment vessel forming said clathrate formation and/or accumulation region and said interior lumen or cavity forming said collection region.

76. The apparatus of claim 75, wherein said clathrate formation and/or accumulation region is generally cylindrical and said permeable restraint is generally centrally and coaxially disposed within said containment vessel.

77. The apparatus of claim 75, further comprising a conduit extending through the interior lumen or cavity of said permeable restraint and having one or more fluid system outlets disposed exteriorly to said permeable restraint, wherein said inlet for introducing said fluid system into said clathrate formation and/or accumulation region comprises said one or more fluid system outlets.

78. The apparatus of claim 77, wherein said one or more fluid system outlets is or are configured to cause fluid system disposed within said clathrate formation and/or accumulation region to rotate within said clathrate formation and/or accumulation region during operation of said apparatus, said apparatus being configured for use with clathrate that is positively buoyant relative to said fluid system such that as said fluid system rotates within said clathrate formation and/or accumulation region, centrifugal forces cause said fluid system to migrate radially outwardly and said clathrate to migrate radially inwardly toward said permeable restraint.

79. The apparatus of claim 46, wherein said permeable restraint is a contoured restraint which has a lumen or cavity formed therein, said apparatus being configured such that in operation, said permeable restraint surrounds said fluid system with said lumen or cavity forming said clathrate formation and/or accumulation region and the region of space exterior to said permeable restraint and bounded at least in part by walls of said containment vessel forming said collection region.

80. The apparatus of claim 79, wherein said lumen or cavity, and hence said clathrate formation and/or accumulation region, is generally cylindrical and said permeable restraint is generally radially outwardly and coaxially disposed within said containment vessel.

81. The apparatus of claim 79, further comprising a conduit extending into the interior lumen or cavity of said permeable restraint and having one or more fluid system outlets disposed interiorly to said permeable restraint, wherein said inlet for introducing said fluid system into said clathrate formation and/or accumulation region comprises said one or more fluid system outlets.

82. The apparatus of claim 81, wherein said one or more fluid system outlets is or are configured to cause fluid system disposed within said clathrate formation and/or accumulation region to rotate within said clathrate formation and/or accumulation region during operation of said apparatus, said apparatus being configured for use with clathrate that is negatively buoyant relative to said fluid system such that as said fluid system rotates within said clathrate formation and/or accumulation region, centrifugal forces cause said fluid system to migrate radially inwardly and said clathrate to migrate radially outwardly toward said permeable restraint.

83. The apparatus of claim 46, wherein said containment vessel comprises a pressure vessel which can be pressurized such that pressure conditions within said clathrate formation and/or accumulation region are conducive to formation of/and or to maintenance of stability of clathrate within said clathrate formation and/or accumulation region.

84. The apparatus of claim 46, wherein said containment vessel is disposed at a lower region of a shaft, said shaft having a length sufficient for the weight of a column of said fluid system of the same length as said shaft to generate pressure conditions within said clathrate formation and/or accumulation region that are conducive to formation of and/or maintenance of stability of clathrate within said clathrate formation and/or accumulation region.

85. The apparatus of claim 84, wherein said shaft extends down into the ground.

86. The apparatus of claim 84, wherein said shaft has a solid, sealing partition extending across it and said containment vessel is defined between said solid, scaling partition and a bottom portion of said shaft.

87. The apparatus of claim 86, wherein said collection region is disposed between said solid, sealing partition and said permeable restraint and said clathrate formation and/or accumulation region is disposed between said permeable restraint and said bottom portion of said shaft, said apparatus being configured for use with clathrate that is positively buoyant relative to said fluid system and that rises toward and accumulates along a lower surface of said permeable restraint.

88. The apparatus of claim 86, wherein said clathrate formation and/or accumulation region is disposed between said solid, sealing partition and said permeable restraint and said collection region is disposed between said permeable restraint and said bottom portion of said shaft, said apparatus being configured for use with clathrate that is negatively buoyant relative to said fluid system and that settles or sinks toward and accumulates on an upper surface of said permeable restraint.

89. The apparatus of claim 86, wherein a portion of said shaft above said solid, sealing partition forms a reservoir portion of said shaft in which said fluid system can be held before being introduced into said clathrate formation and/or accumulation region, said apparatus further comprising a bypass pipe establishing fluid communication between said reservoir portion and said clathrate formation and/or accumulation region such that said fluid system can pass from said reservoir portion into said clathrate formation and/or accumulation region.

90. The apparatus of claim 46, wherein said apparatus is configured to be submerged in a naturally occurring body of said fluid system at a depth sufficient for the weight of a column of said fluid system above said apparatus to generate pressure conditions that are conducive to formation of and/or maintenance of stability of clathrate within said clathrate formation and/or accumulation region.

91. The apparatus of claim 90, wherein said clathrate formation and/or accumulation region is open to said naturally occurring body of said fluid system such that said fluid system naturally enters said clathrate formation and/or accumulation region.

92. The apparatus of claim 90, wherein said clathrate formation and/or accumulation region is open to said naturally occurring body of said fluid system and is configured such that residual fluids remaining after clathrate is formed in said fluid system contained within said clathrate formation and/or accumulation region sink or settle naturally out of said apparatus and into said naturally occurring body of said fluid system.

93. The apparatus of claim 90, wherein said clathrate formation and/or accumulation region is disposed at a lower portion of said apparatus and is open at a lower end thereof to said naturally occurring body of fluid system such that said fluid system naturally enters said clathrate formation and/or accumulation region through the open lower end thereof and such that residual fluids remaining after clathrate is formed in said fluid system contained within said clathrate formation and/or accumulation region sink or settle naturally out of said apparatus through the open lower end of said clathrate formation and/or accumulation region and into said naturally occurring body of said fluid system.

94. The apparatus of claim 46, wherein said outlet for collecting said host molecules and said outlet for collecting said guest molecules from said collection region comprise a single, unitary outlet by means of which both said guest molecules and said host molecules are collected.

95. The apparatus of any one of claims 46-94, said apparatus further comprising a clathrate-forming-substance introducing system, said clathrate-forming-substance introducing system comprising one or more conduits configured and disposed to introduce a clathrate-forming substance into said clathrate formation and/or accumulation region, which clathrate-forming substance combines with said solvent, said suspension suspending fluid, or said emulsion suspending fluid during operation of said apparatus to form said clathrate under suitable conditions of temperature and pressure.

96. Apparatus for separating components of a fluid system in which said apparatus is immersed, said fluid system being 1) a solution comprising a solute dissolved in a solvent, 2) a suspension comprising solid material suspended within a suspension suspending fluid, or 3) an emulsion comprising liquid material suspended within an emulsion suspending fluid, said apparatus being configured to use clathrate having a crystalline structure comprising one or more guest molecules disposed within a cage structure formed from a plurality of host molecules to separate said components of said fluid system, said apparatus comprising:

a contoured, thermally assisted permeable restraint configured to form a generally enclosed interior lumen or chamber therein which comprises a collection region, said contoured, thermally assisted permeable restraint having a plurality of pores extending through it from one surface bounding said interior lumen or chamber to an opposite, exterior-facing surface thereof, said contoured, thermally assisted permeable restraint further having a cooling system configured to cool at least said opposite, exterior-facing surface so as to cool portions of said fluid system in contact with or in proximity to said opposite, exterior-facing surface to form a generally solid layer of clathrate thereon, said pores being configured to permit said guest molecules and said host molecules to pass through said contoured, thermally assisted permeable restraint and into said interior lumen or chamber upon dissociation of clathrate from portions of said layer of clathrate that are in contact with or adjacent to said exterior-facing surface of said contoured, thermally assisted permeable restraint;

means for inducing said portions of said layer of clathrate that are in contact with or adjacent to said exterior-facing surface of said contoured, thermally assisted permeable restraint to dissociate into said host molecules and said guest molecules such that said host molecules and said guest molecules can pass through said permeable restraint and into said collection region; and

a conduit configured and disposed to convey said guest molecules out of said interior lumen or chamber and a conduit configured and disposed to convey said host molecules out of said interior lumen or chamber after said guest molecules and said host molecules have passed through said contoured, thermally assisted permeable restraint and into said collection region.

97. The apparatus of claim 96, wherein said cooling system comprises a plurality of cooling passages extending through said permeable restraint, said cooling passages being arranged so as to extend in between said plurality of pores and generally parallel with the sides of said permeable restraint.

98. The apparatus of claim 97, wherein said cooling passages circulate cooling fluid therein.

99. The apparatus of claim 97, wherein said cooling passages contain Pelletier thermoelectric effect cooling members.

100. The apparatus of claim 97, wherein said cooling passages contain magnetocaloric effect cooling devices.

101. The apparatus of claim 96, wherein said pores are conical, with the diameter of said pores decreasing from the exterior-facing surface of said contoured, thermally assisted permeable restraint to said one surface bounding said interior lumen or chamber of said contoured, thermally assisted permeable restraint.

102. The apparatus of claim 96, wherein said means for inducing comprises means for heating said exterior-facing surface of said contoured, thermally assisted permeable restraint.

103. The apparatus of claim 102, wherein said means for heating comprises a series of heating passages disposed within or on said contoured, thermally assisted permeable restraint, said heating passages being arranged so as to extend in between said plurality of pores and generally parallel with the sides of said permeable restraint.

104. The apparatus of claim 102, wherein said means for heating comprises resistance heaters.

105. The apparatus of claim 102, wherein said means for heating comprises Pelletier thermoelectric effect heaters.

106. The apparatus of claim 102, wherein said means for heating comprises magnetocaloric devices.

107. The apparatus of claim 96, wherein said means for inducing comprises means for reducing pressure within said collection region, the reduced pressure within said collection region acting on said portions of said layer of clathrate that are in contact with or adjacent to said exterior-facing surface of said contoured, thermally assisted permeable restraint through said pores.

108. The apparatus of claim 107, wherein said means for reducing pressure comprises one or more pressure-reducing pumps.

109. The apparatus of claim 107, wherein said means for reducing pressure comprises one or more pumps disposed in fluid communication with said conduit configured and disposed to convey said guest molecules out of said interior lumen or chamber.

110. The apparatus of claim 107, wherein said means for reducing pressure comprises one or more pumps disposed in fluid communication with said conduit configured and disposed to convey said host molecules out of said interior lumen or chamber.

111. The apparatus of claim 96, wherein said conduit configured and disposed to convey said guest molecules out of said interior lumen or chamber and said conduit configured and disposed to convey said host molecules out of said interior lumen or chamber comprise a single, unitary conduit.

112. A method of forming hydrate or other clathrate, comprising:

disposing a hydrate-formation or clathrate-formation support member in an environment containing constituent components of said hydrate or other clathrate; and

cooling said support member to cause hydrate or clathrate to form on a first surface thereof.

113. The method of claim 112, wherein said support member is porous, said method further comprising

causing said hydrate or clathrate to dissociate back into its constituent components from at least portions thereof which are adjacent to said surface of said support member, and

drawing said dissociated constituent components through said support member from said first surface toward a second, opposite surface.

114. The method of claim 112, further comprising collecting said hydrate or clathrate, as such, from said first surface.

115. Apparatus for forming hydrate or other clathrate, comprising:

a vessel in which components of said hydrate or clathrate can be located; and

a hydrate-formation or clathrate-formation support member disposed within said vessel, said support member having a cooling system by means of which said support member is cooled so as to facilitate formation of hydrate or clathrate on a surface thereof.

116. The apparatus of claim 115, wherein said support member is porous and permeable to said components of said hydrate or clathrate.