Dispersion Forces Stabilize Ice Coatings at Certain Gas Hydrate Interfaces That Prevent Water Wetting
Gas hydrates formed in oceans and permafrost occur in vast quantities on Earth representing both a massive potential fuel source and a large threat in climate forecasts. They have been predicted to be important on other bodies in our solar systems such as Enceladus, a moon of Saturn. CO2-hydrates li...
| Published in: | ACS Earth and Space Chemistry |
|---|---|
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , , , |
| Format: | Article in Journal/Newspaper |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
American Chemical Society
|
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://hdl.handle.net/1885/213059 https://doi.org/10.1021/acsearthspacechem.9b00019 https://openresearch-repository.anu.edu.au/bitstream/1885/213059/3/01_Bostrom_Dispersion_Forces_Stabilize_2019.pdf.jpg |
| Summary: | Gas hydrates formed in oceans and permafrost occur in vast quantities on Earth representing both a massive potential fuel source and a large threat in climate forecasts. They have been predicted to be important on other bodies in our solar systems such as Enceladus, a moon of Saturn. CO2-hydrates likely drive the massive gas-rich water plumes seen and sampled by the spacecraft Cassini, and the source of these hydrates is thought to be due to buoyant gas hydrate particles. Dispersion forces can in some cases cause gas hydrates at thermal equilibrium to be coated in a 3–4 nm thick film of ice, or to contact water directly, depending on which gas they contain. As an example, the results are valid at a quadruple point of the water–CO2 gas hydrate system, where a film is formed not only for the model with pure ice but also in the presence of impurities in water or in the ice layer. These films are shown to significantly alter the properties of the gas hydrate clusters, for example, whether they float or sink. It is also expected to influence gas hydrate growth and gas leakage. We gratefully acknowledge support from the Research Council of Norway (Project 250346), the German Research Council (grant BU 1803/6-1, to S.Y.B. and J.F.; BU 1803/3-1, S.Y.B.), the Research Innovation Fund by the University of Freiburg (to S.Y.B. and J.F.), the Freiburg Institute for Advanced Studies (to S.Y.B.), and FAPERJ (JCNE E-26/203.223/2016). D.F.P. acknowledges the grant of resources from the National Computational Infrastructure (NCI), which is supported by the Australian Government. Data available from authors. |
|---|