Direct Observations of Three-Dimensional Growth of Hydrates Hosted in Porous Media
Document Type
Article
Publication Date
7-24-2009
Abstract
The visualization of time-resolved three-dimensional growth of tetrahydrofuran hydrates with glass spheres of uniform size as porous media using synchrotron x-ray computed microtomography is presented. The images of hydrate patches, formed from excess tetrahydrofuran in aqueous solution, show random nucleation and growth concomitant with grain movement but independent of container-wall effect. Away from grain surfaces, hydrate surface curvature was convex showing that liquid, not hydrate, was the wetting phase, similar to ice growth in porous media. The extension of the observed behavior to methane hydrates could have implications in understanding their role in seafloor stability and climate change.
DOI
10.1063/1.3120544
MSU Digital Commons Citation
Kerkar, Prasad; Jones, Keith W.; Kleinberg, Robert; Lindquist, W. Brent; Tomov, Stan; Feng, Huan; and Mahajan, Devinder, "Direct Observations of Three-Dimensional Growth of Hydrates Hosted in Porous Media" (2009). Department of Earth and Environmental Studies Faculty Scholarship and Creative Works. 242.
https://digitalcommons.montclair.edu/earth-environ-studies-facpubs/242