Many marine hydrate reservoirs exhibit significant foraminifera abundance. These foraminifera alter the original properties of the sediments, potentially affecting the formation and accumulation of hydrates. This present study analyzed the pore-structure characteristics of foraminifera-containing sediments from the South China Sea and their influences on the hydrate formation process by using microscopic imaging techniques. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and X-ray computed tomography (X-CT) reveal the unique dual-porosity characteristics of these sediments, characterized by matrix pores and foraminiferal pores. These two types of pores diverge significantly in their size distribution, morphological attributes, connectivity, and other aspects. Further experiments show the formation and occurrences of tetrahydrofuran (THF) hydrate under different sedimentary conditions and solution concentrations. Foraminiferal shells are found to promote the formation of hydrate by increasing the volume fraction of hydrate-favoring pores, which is more pronounced under conditions of low hydrate saturation. These findings obtained may contribute to global hydrate resource assessments and enhance understanding of hydrate reservoirs.

中文翻译：

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海洋沉积物中有孔虫壳的孔隙结构特征及其与天然气水合物形成的关系

许多海洋水合物储层表现出显着的有孔虫丰富度。这些有孔虫改变了沉积物的原始性质，可能影响水合物的形成和积累。本研究利用显微成像技术分析了南海含有孔虫沉积物的孔隙结构特征及其对水合物形成过程的影响。扫描电子显微镜（SEM）和X射线计算机断层扫描（X-CT）揭示了这些沉积物独特的双孔隙特征，以基质孔隙和有孔虫孔隙为特征。这两类孔隙在尺寸分布、形态属性、连通性和其他方面存在显着差异。进一步的实验显示了不同沉积条件和溶液浓度下四氢呋喃（THF）水合物的形成和赋存。研究发现有孔虫壳通过增加有利于水合物的孔隙的体积分数来促进水合物的形成，这在低水合物饱和度的条件下更为明显。获得的这些发现可能有助于全球水合物资源评估并增强对水合物储层的了解。