Effect of surface roughness on methane hydrate formation and its implications in nucleation design

Abstract

As a new form of energy with substantial potential, natural gas hydrate will play a crucial strategic role in the future due to its vast reserves and broad industrial application prospects. To better comprehend the nucleation and growth mechanism of clathrate hydrate, an enhanced thermodynamic model was proposed based on the wall roughness model and nucleation theory. In general, we discovered that the nucleation of hydrate on a smooth wall surface conforms to the conclusion of classical nucleation theory. However, curvature and surface roughness are frequently characterized by hydrophilicity's inhibition of hydrate and hydrophobicity's enhancement.The specific situation is more complex and requires specific analysis and discussion.Nonetheless, this also explains the uneven distribution of hydrate nucleation induction time. Our research reveals a fundamental method for designing or manipulating the heterogeneous nucleation of hydrates. We foresee promising applications in hydrate-related technologies based on the fractal structure of the substrate's surface.

Nucleation of CO2 Hydrate in Quasi-Free Droplets of Dilute Electrolytes

“…25 Li et al discovered that the impact of wall roughness on hydrate nucleation is extraordinarily complicated. 26 They reported that the hydrate nucleation was consistent with the classical nucleation theory on a smooth wall surface, while hydrophilicity promoted and hydrophobicity inhibited hydrate nucleation. Therefore, it is difficult to decouple the impact of solid walls from that of dilute electrolytes when they are present.…”

“…Bai et al carried out molecular dynamics simulations of CO 2 dissolved in water near silica surfaces and reported how the properties of solid surfaces impacted the local structures of the adjacent water molecules and the nucleation of gas hydrate . Li et al discovered that the impact of wall roughness on hydrate nucleation is extraordinarily complicated . They reported that the hydrate nucleation was consistent with the classical nucleation theory on a smooth wall surface, while hydrophilicity promoted and hydrophobicity inhibited hydrate nucleation.…”

Path-dependent morphology of CH4 hydrates and their dissociation studied with high-pressure microfluidics

“…37 (b) The near-perfect smooth surface of the fabricated microfluidic chip does not provide additional nucleation sites for MH heterogeneous nucleation. 38 Fig. 4c-h show the images acquired at location 1 (see Fig.…”

Theoretical investigation of threshold pressure gradient in hydrate-bearing clayey-silty sediments under combined stress and local thermal stimulation conditions

“…Firstly, the derived model is limited to capillary bundle model, which does not consider the surface roughness of HBCSS. In general, pore surfaces of HBCSS are not smooth and exhibit random roughness [87,88]. Secondly, although the derived model accounts for WC hydrates, PF hydrates, and the combination of these two hydrates, it ignores other hydrate patterns such as grain coating, lenses, and veins in HBCSS.…”