Abstract
Gas hydrate nucleation is the spontaneous formation of an ordered crystalline lattice from a disordered phase. This inherently random process often involves long induction times particularly in quiescent conditions. An experimental study was conducted to explore the kinetics of hydrate formation in the presence of mineral grains and when subjected to mechanical agitation. Results show that tetrahydrofuran THF hydrate nucleation is facilitated in the presence of most minerals, and induction times are a function of mineralogy and surface characteristics. While mechanical vibration does not suppress the inherent stochastic nature of nucleation, mechanical agitation triggers nucleation when the imposed acceleration exceeds ~10m/s2.
Original language | English (US) |
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Pages (from-to) | 107-112 |
Number of pages | 6 |
Journal | Fluid Phase Equilibria |
Volume | 378 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - Sep 25 2014 |
Externally published | Yes |
Bibliographical note
Funding Information:Support for this research was provided by the Joint Industry Project for Methane Hydrate administered by Chevron under contract DE-FC26-01NT41330 from the U.S. Department of Energy to Georgia Tech. Additional funds were from the Goizueta Foundation . We also wish to acknowledge the support of the Korea Institute of Geoscience and Mineral Resources and the Gas Hydrate Research and Development Organization (GHDO) of the Ministry of Trade, Industry, and Energy, Republic of Korea .
Keywords
- Hydrate
- Interfacial tension
- Mechanical agitation
- Nucleation
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- General Chemical Engineering
- General Physics and Astronomy
- Physical and Theoretical Chemistry