Microfluidic insights: Methane hydrate dynamics in distinct wettable confined space

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

“…4b shows the P – T trajectory in relation to the MH phase equilibrium curve. As can be seen, the sub-cooling ( T sub ) of MH formation at the pore-scale in this process was ∼10.2 K. It was interesting to note that the T sub required to induce MH formation on the microfluidic chip (in the range of 10–15 K) 20 was usually higher than that in actual marine sediments (in the range of 3–8 K). 36 This can be possibly attributed to two reasons: (a) the existence of impurities in marine sediments (such as montmorillonite minerals) promotes heterogeneous nucleation and reduces both the induction time and T sub .…”

“…19 The direct visualization of the MH interface and gas bubble evolution during MH dissociation is essential for addressing the rate of MH dissociation. 20,21 Kou et al 17 conducted X-ray experiments that revealed that the water layer covering the MH grows during MH dissociation. These findings show that the thickness of the water film at the front of the MH dissociation interface and the evolution of gas bubbles increase the complexity of the mass transfer.…”