Clathrate hydrates: recent advances on CH4 and CO2 hydrates,and possible new frontiers

Gas hydrates continue to attract enormous attention throughout the energy industry, as both a hindrance in conventional production and a substantial unconventional resource. Scientists continue to be fascinated by the hydrates’ ability of sequestering large amounts of hydrophobic gases, unusual thermal transport properties and unique molecular structures. Technologically, clathrate hydrates promise advantages in applications as diverse as carbon sequestration and water desalination. The communities interested in hydrates span traditional academic disciplines, including earth science, physical chemistry and petroleum engineering. The studies on this field are equally diverse, including field expeditions to attempt the production of natural gas from hydrate deposits accumulated naturally on the seafloor, to lab-scale studies to exchange CO₂ for CH₄ in hydrates; from theoretical studies to understand the stability of hydrates depending on the guest molecules, to molecular simulations probing nucleation mechanisms. This review highlights a few fundamental questions, with focus on knowledge gaps representing some of the barriers that must be addressed to enable growth in the practical applications of hydrate technology, including natural gas storage, water desalination, CO₂ – CH₄ exchange in hydrate deposits and prevention of hydrate plugs in conventional energy transportation.     

Modeling the properties of methane + ethane (Propane) binary hydrates,depending on the composition of gas phase state in equilibrium with hydrate

The properties of methane + ethane and methane + propane hydrates of cubic structures sI and sII are theoretically investigated. It is shown that the composition of the formed binary hydrate strongly depends on the percentage of a heavier guest in gas phase. For instance, for a 1% molar ethane concentration in gas phase, even at a low pressure, ethane occupies 60% large cavities in the hydrate sII, and as the pressure grows to 100 atm, it occupies 80% large cavities at a low temperature. The tendency remains the same at a temperature of higher than the ice melting point, but the methane concentration in the hydrate decreases to 30%. In the structure sI, the influence of the component composition of the gas mixture on that of the formed hydrate is less evident. However, in this case, calculation showed also that for a 1% molar ethane concentration in gas phase, ethane molecules occupy from 8 to 10% large hydrate cavities, depending on the pressure. This work is concerned with modeling phase transitions between cubic structures sI and sII of methane + ethane binary hydrates in view of incomplete occupation of cavities in the hydrate by guest molecules. For an ethane concentration under 2% in the gas mixture, the structure sII becomes more thermodynamically stable than the structure sI. However, as the ethane concentration grows to 20% in the equilibrium ice-gas-hydrate and to 40% in the equilibrium water-gas-hydrate, the structure sI becomes more thermodynamically stable. Hence, for low ethane concentrations in a gas mixture, the structure sI can be formed only as a metastable phase. Phase equilibria of methane hydrate sI and mixed methane + propane hydrate sII are considered, depending on the gas phase composition. Similar results are obtained for this equilibrium; this can evidence simultaneous formation of hydrates sI and sII at low propane concentrations.     

Influence of gravitational potential on the thermodynamic stability of pure and mixed clathrate hydrates

Clathrate hydrates are an ice-like material consisting of gas molecules confined within cavities in a crystalline water lattice. Phase equilibria of clathrate hydrates systems was described using the statistical mechanical theory of van der Waals and Platteeuw. This theory makes use of the fractional occupancy of cavities within the clathrate hydrate lattice in the determination of chemical equilibria. Classical density functional theory with intermolecular interactions restricted to the first hydration shell was employed to determine the fractional occupancy. In addition to the external field describing the gas-water interactions, the effect of a gravitational field was introduced. The results of the calculations show that although the gravitational potential term may be orders of magnitude smaller than the thermal kinetic energy of the gas species or the hydrogen-bond energy holding the clathrate lattice together, it can nevertheless influence the phase equilibrium of the clathrate hydrate system to some degree. The effect of the magnitudes of both the gravitational potential and the local gravitational field are considered too.     

水合物研制、结构与性能及其在能源环境中的应用

天然气水合物是与能源和环境相关的物质,可以进行甲烷等能源气体的存储和提取,也可以用于对二氧化碳等废气的封存.天然气水合物主要分为三种结构:sI, sII和sH,在本文中对其稳定性、水笼类型和大小以及可俘获气体进行了论述.中子衍射技术是研究水合物的重要手段之一,有着独特的优势.如中子的穿透性可以研究在高压状态下压力腔体内的大块样品;中子对于轻元素的敏感性可以很好地确定水合物当中的碳、氢、氧元素.通过中子衍射和非弹散射可以得到水合物中H/D原子的位置、各向异性振动因子、不同温度压力下的客体分子的水笼占据率、客体分子在水笼中的无序分布、原子核密度分布(通过最大熵方法);通过时间分辨中子,可以检测水合物形成及分解过程的热力学和动力学过程.而利用非弹中子可以得到气体分子平移和旋转振动模式以及分子的量子态转变.通过二氧化碳气体注入对天然气水合物的开采可以实现能源气体甲烷的开采和废气二氧化碳的水合物封存,在减小地质灾害和开采成本上有着独特的优势.     

Novel neon-hydrate of cubic ice structure

The stability of ice I cubic (ice I_c) whose voids are occupied by neon particles is investigated using a hybrid type of isobaric grand-canonical Monte Carlo simulation. We show that the resulting neon hydrate is stable under high pressure and temperature where ice I_c alone is unstable, suggesting the existence of a novel neon hydrate of ice I_c. We also show through chemical potential calculation that the neon hydrate of the ice I_c structure is more favorable than the neon hydrate of the ice II structure, whose existence was proven from experiment under high pressure condition.     

Pressure-induced amorphization of clathrate hydrates

Compression and decompression of clathrate hydrates have been carried out in order to investigate the onset pressures above which the crystalline forms begin to collapse at 0 K and do not revert back to the original structures upon decompression. Several proton-disordered structures of clathrate hydrate I encapsulating noble gases were subjected to compression, the steepest descent minimization of potential energy, the subsequent expansion to the original volume, and the steepest descent minimization. It was found that above the onset pressure, depending on guest species, even the fully occupied hydrates are compressed inelastically, and transformed into amorphous forms from which crystalline structures are no longer recovered by decompression at 0 K.     

Raman Spectroscopy of Nitrogen Clathrate Hydrates

在253 K和16 MPa的压力下,于实验室内合成了氮气水合物,用显微共焦拉曼光谱对其N-N和O-H键伸缩振动的光谱特征进行了研究．结果表明,氮气水合物中的N-N和O-H键的拉曼峰分别为2322.4和3092.1 cm^-1,与天然的空气水合物中的数据十分接近．另外,还测定了液氮和溶解于水中的氮分子中N-N键的拉曼峰值,分别为2326.6和2325.0 cm^-1．氮气笼型水合物分解的拉曼谱图表明,氮分子同时进入水合物的大笼和小笼中,但由于氮分子在大、小笼中的环境氛围十分接近,其拉曼位移相差不大,故拉曼谱图只能显示N-N键伸缩振动一个峰．     

Using clathrate hydrates for gas storage and gas-mixture separations: experimental and computational studies at multiple length scales

ABSTRACT

Clathrate hydrates have characteristic properties that render them attractive for a number of industrial applications. Of particular interest are the following two cases: (i) the incorporation of large amounts of gas molecules into the solid structure has resulted in considering hydrates as possible material for the storage/transportation of energy or environmental gases, and (ii) the selective incorporation of guest molecules into the solid structure has resulted in considering hydrates for gas-mixture separations. For the proper design of such industrial applications, it is essential to know accurately a number of thermodynamic, structural and transport properties. Such properties can either be measured experimentally or calculated at different scales that span the molecular scale-up to the continuum scale. By using clathrate hydrates as a particular case study, we demonstrate that performing studies at multiple length scales can be utilised in order to obtain properties that are essential to process design.     

Theoretical investigation of structures,compositions, and phase transitions of neon hydrates based on ices Ih and II

Thermodynamic conditions of existence in the p-T plane and the composition of neon hydrates based on ices Ih and II are determined. The occupancy of neon in cages (channels) of ices Ih and II at temperatures below 0°C is calculated. It is shown that the occupancy of neon in hydrate based on ices cages decreases with growing temperature. Lines of monovariant equilibria between gas phase (neon)-neon hydrate based on ice Ih-liquid water (or ice II) and neon-gas phase (neon)-hydrate based on ice II-liquidwater (or ice II) are found. The line of divariant equilibria between neon hydrate based on ice Ih-neon hydrate based on ice II has been also calculated. The possibility of ice stabilization due to inclusion of neon into ice cages (channels) is shown.     

Photosynthesis of methanol and methane from CO2 and H2O molecules on a ZnO surface

The photochemical synthesis of CH₃OH and CH₄ from CO₂ and H₂O molecules was observed at 5°C by irradiating ZnO powder with visible light under high pressures of 25 to 35 kg/cm² of CO₂ gas. Under these conditions the water surrounding the ZnO surface is in the clathrate hydrate phase, and this is expected to regulate the surface OH groups and to enhance the interaction of the CO₂ molecules with the OH groups. The surface impurity levels originating from S, Si and P atoms, which are accumulated during the surface activation, play an essential role in the generation of free electrons and holes by visible light. Measurement of the photosurface conductance on the ZnO(101̄0) surface confirms the above facts. The best conversion efficiency was found to be about 6% with respect to reactant H₂O molecules using a 75 W Xe lamp.     

整体煤气化联合循环合成气水合物法分离CO2的分子动力学模拟

利用分子动力学（MD）模拟方法研究整体煤气化联合循环（IGCC）合成气（CO₂/H₂）水合物法分离CO₂的分离机理,系统研究了CO₂水合物、H₂水合物以及合成气水合物法一级分离所得CO₂/H₂混合气体水合物的微观结构及性质.模拟分析n个CO₂或H₂与水合物笼状结构的整体结合能ΔE关键词： 水合物法分离 分子动力学模拟 整体煤气化联合循环合成气 2分离')" href="#">CO₂分离     

Molecular motion in hydroquinone hydrogen chloride clathrate compound

Heat capacities of [C₆H₄(OH)₂]₃·(HCl)_x with x=0.68 and 0.75 were measured from 1 to 15 K. Weak anomalies were found at 7 and 11 K, respectively. The rotational heat capacities of the hydrogen chloride molecules in the clathrate cavities were obtained by subtracting heat capacities due to the host lattice and the rattling motion of the guest molecules from the experimental values. The rotational heat capacity of the hydrogen chloride of the system with x = 0.68 agreed with the free rotational heat capacity of the gaseous hydrogen chloride with the modified moment of inertia I = 3.29 × 10^?47kgm² below 8 K. The dielectric constant of the system with x = 0.56 obeyed the Curie-Weiss law above 30 K. These results showed that the hydrogen chloride molecules in the clathrate cavities execute modified free rotation at low temperatures.     

Emission anomalous optical magnetic resonances in a mixture of even neon isotopes

Unusual resonances have been detected in the dependence of the discharge glow in neon on the longitudinal magnetic field. The resonances appear in fairly high magnetic fields and are observed only at low gas pressures and exclusively in a mixture of ²⁰Ne and ²²Ne isotopes. This phenomenon is an evidence of collective resonant radiation processes involving atoms of different neon isotopes.     

The effect of lattice constant on the storage capacity of hydrogen hydrates: a Monte Carlo study

ABSTRACT

We use grand canonical Monte Carlo simulations to examine the effect of the size of hydrate cavities (as reflected through the lattice constant of the hydrate unit cell) on the efficiency of clathrate hydrates in storing hydrogen gas. With this approach, the hydrate lattice is treated as a solid substrate where gas absorption takes place. Of practical interests are cases, where the lattice-size parameters are changed in such a way that they can promote/enhance multiple cavity occupancy, namely the presence of more than one guest-gas molecule in the same hydrate cavity. This phenomenon is commonly observed in the case of hydrogen hydrates and could increase their storage capacity. A parametric analysis is also carried out to quantify the correlation between the change in the lattice constant and the storage capacity since small changes in the size of the crystal unit cell may induce significant changes in the storage capacity especially in cases where multiple cavity occupancy occurs.     

显微激光拉曼光谱测定甲烷水合物的水合指数

甲烷水合物是由甲烷气体分子与水分子在低温高压下形成的一种笼型结构化合物,广泛存在于海底陆架区和陆地冻土区,被认为是一种潜在的能源资源。在水合物的晶格中,水分子在氢键的作用下形成大小不同的笼子,甲烷分子可分别进入大笼(51262)和小笼(512)中。在自行研制的实验装置上,分别合成了一系列不同体系下的甲烷水合物,包括十二烷基硫酸钠(SDS)水溶液-甲烷体系、冰粉-甲烷体系以及冰粉-不同粒度砂-甲烷体系。对这些甲烷水合物样品进行了激光拉曼光谱分析,测定了其水合指数,笼占有率等结构参数。结果表明,这些甲烷水合物都为Ⅰ型结构,其水合指数和笼占有率基本不受沉积物粒径大小的影响。在3种体系中生成的水合物,大笼中甲烷分子基本占满,占有率大于97%;小笼中甲烷分子占有率为80%～86%,测得的水合指数为6.05～6.15。     

Molecular dynamics simulations of PVP kinetic inhibitor in liquid water and hydrate/liquid water systems

The possible effects of PVP (poly(N-vinylpyrrolidone)) on the properties of liquid and water in clathrate hydrate has been investigated using NVT molecular dynamics simulations. A model for a monomer of the PVP polymer is immersed in three systems, liquid water, a unit cell of a hydrate in liquid water with a hydrate former and a third system where some of the liquid water molecules of this last system are replaced by a PVP monomer. Both molecular dynamics simulation and integral equation theory predict hydrogen bonding between the double bonded oxygen in the PVP ring and hydrogens in water. For the composite system, the PVP monomer has a preference for hydrogen bonding to hydrogens from the water molecules at the surface of the hydrate lattice. The simulations indicate that the PVP monomer tends to orient perpendicular to the hydrate surface. For the model systems in this study PVP may form hydrogen bonds with liquid water through the double bonded oxygen in the ring. When a hydrate crystal is immersed in the liquid water phase this hydrogen bonding is shifted towards the hydrate due to a more favourable Coulomb interaction involving hydrogens from more than one water molecule at the hydrate surface. The PVP monomer has a preference for perpendicular orientation with respect to the hydrate surface. A scheme is suggested for the characterization of kinetic hydrate inhibitors based on molecular dynamics simulations and on three basic properties. In addition to the energy between the active groups of the inhibitor and hydrate water another point of focus is the free energy changes in the interactions between the inhibitor and water as the charges are changed from zero to the original model charges. In particular the difference between this integral for the (hydrate water)–(PVP monomer) interaction and the (liquid water)–(PVP inhibitor) interaction should reflect the driving forces in freezing the inhibitor out from the liquid water phase and onto the hydrate surface. The third property in the characterization scheme is the diffusivities of groups connecting to the hydrate crystal, relative to the diffusivities of the hydrate crystal. Results are presented from simulations where a small cavity with a methane model as a guest is immersed in liquid water with free methane molecules at a temperature of 150K. Changes in structure, diffusivities and energy indicate a tendency towards a more solid–like structurde around the cavity.     

Spin-lattice relaxation of CH4 gas in a deuterated clathrate lattice

The proton T₁ temperature dependence of CH₄ gas in a deuterated clathrate lattice deviates from the semiclassifical predictions. The discrepancy is partially accounted for by including the effects of symmetry and the quantization of rotational states.     

First-principles calculations of electronic,optical and elastic properties of Ba2MgWO6 double perovskite

The structural, electronic, optical and elastic properties of the cubic double perovskite Ba₂MgWO₆ were calculated using the ab initio plane wave method and compared with the available experimental data. The pressure effects were modeled by optimizing the crystal lattice structure and calculating the band gap at elevated hydrostatic pressures. The calculated values of the relative change of a unit cell volume with pressure are in excellent agreement with the recent experimental measurements [S. Meenakshi et al, J. Phys. Chem. Solids 72 (2011) 609]. The pressure coefficients of the lattice constant and the WO, MgO, BaO bonds variations were all evaluated. Elastic anisotropic properties were analyzed by calculating all independent components of the elastic constants tensor; the greatest and the smallest values of the Young's moduli were determined.     

A New Class of Low Compressibility Materials: Clathrates of Silicon and Related Materials

We discuss the high pressure properties of different silicon clathrate structures that we have investigated by means of X-ray diffraction and ab initio calculations. Compressibility, transition pressures or phase transformations are interpreted as a function of the nature of the guest atom intercalation. The compressibility of the clathrate structure is in all cases close to that of silicon diamond whereas transition pressures or the high pressure phases are extremely depending on the nature of the guest atom. We address the implications for obtaining a metallic material as hard as diamond.     

储氢笼型水合物生成促进机理的分子动力学模拟研究

用分子动力学(MD)模拟方法研究水合物法储氢的促进机理,系统研究纯H₂水合物、H₂+四氢呋喃(THF)水合物、H₂+四丁基溴化铵(TBAB)半笼型水合物和H₂+四异戊基溴化铵(TiAAB)半笼型水合物的微观结构及性质.模拟分析客体与笼子之间的稳定能ΔE_GH,得出水合物中大笼子对稳定水合物起到主要作用.THF进入大笼子能促进H₂水合物稳定,降低H₂水合物形成压力,模拟结果与实验一致.模拟对比不同客体在大笼子中的ΔE_GH值,得出从小到大的顺序依次为TiAAB,TBAB,THF,H₂.模拟结果表明半笼型水合物的稳定性比结构Ⅱ型水合物强,同时得出H₂+TiAAB半笼型水合物的结构最稳定.MD模拟为TiAAB成为一种水合物新型促进剂和新型储氢材料提供了理论依据. 关键词： 2笼型水合物')" href="#">H₂笼型水合物 分子动力学模拟 储氢 半笼型水合物