(142e) Nano-Scale Phenomena Control Growth and Stability of CO2 Hydrates

Clathrate hydrates are solid inclusion compounds that promise to be extremely useful both for the production of natural gas and for the sequestration of carbon dioxide. The technoeconomic feasibility of both these processes, as well as others that inlcude separations and water purification, depends strongly on fundamental principles such as stability, transport and kinetics rekated to the formaton of the hydrates. Many experimental investigations are conducted, revealing interesting and sometimes puzzling properties of these compounds. To obtain a deep understadning of these systems it is necessary to develop a theoretical framework inclusive of these observations. As a first step, our group has used molecular simulations for uncovering some of the nano-scale phenomena that are likely responsible for the macroscopic observations. We will discuss here how interfacial phenomena occurring at the interface between solid and fluid interfaces dictate some of the macroscopic observables. Some of our recent insights will be presented here, towards identifying experimental processes that could be used for assessing their reliability.