Statements in which the resource exists as a subject.
PredicateObject
rdf:type
lifeskim:mentions
pubmed:issue
33
pubmed:dateCreated
2010-8-19
pubmed:abstractText
The key factors that affect the growth of methane hydrates are identified using molecular dynamics simulations. The three-phase molecular models consisting of methane gas, liquid water, and solid hydrate phase are used in this study. The melting temperatures of such a model at different pressures are found to be in good agreement with experiment. The growth rate of methane hydrate is found to be dominated by (1) the solubility of methane in the liquid phase, (2) the diffusivity of methane in water, and (3) the adsorption of methane by methane-filled incomplete water cages at the solid-liquid interface. The solubility, and hence the growth rate, increases with the partial pressure of methane in the vapor phase. The mass transport resistance from adsorption and the diffusion of methane are two competing factors, with the adsorption of methane at the interface found to be the rate-limiting step. The presence of a high concentration of incomplete clathrate hydrate cages presents strong affinity to dissolved methane at temperatures below the melting point. In addition to methane adsorption, water molecules must be expelled to form the complete clathrate cages. Both processes lead to a methane concentration minimum at 5-9 A in front of the growing interface. The methane concentration minimum provides the driving force for methane transport from the bulk to the interface. There are two types of solid layers of methane hydrate in the (1,0,0) direction. The growths of these layers are different, highly correlated, and affected by the methane concentration. A detailed mechanism of the layer growth is deduced from our simulations.
pubmed:language
eng
pubmed:journal
pubmed:status
PubMed-not-MEDLINE
pubmed:month
Aug
pubmed:issn
1520-5207
pubmed:author
pubmed:issnType
Electronic
pubmed:day
26
pubmed:volume
114
pubmed:owner
NLM
pubmed:authorsComplete
Y
pubmed:pagination
10804-13
pubmed:year
2010
pubmed:articleTitle
The growth of structure I methane hydrate from molecular dynamics simulations.
pubmed:affiliation
Department of Chemical Engineering, National Taiwan University, Taipei 10617, Taiwan.
pubmed:publicationType
Journal Article