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Title: Methane hydrate formation in confined nanospace can surpass nature

Journal Article · · Nature Communications
DOI:https://doi.org/10.1038/ncomms7432· OSTI ID:1342661
 [1];  [1];  [2];  [3];  [3];  [4];  [4];  [5];  [1];  [6];  [1]
  1. Univ. of Alicante, San Vincente del Raspeig (Spain). Univ. Inst. of Materials
  2. Oak Ridge National Lab. (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States). Chemical and Engineering Materials Division
  3. Polytechnic Univ. of Valencia (Spain). Inst. of Chemical Technology
  4. Inst. of Chemical Research of Catalonia (ICIQ), Tarragona (Spain)
  5. ALBA Light Source, Barcelona (Spain)
  6. Shinshu Univ., Nagano (Japan). Research Center for Exotic Nanocarbons
+ Show Author Affiliations

Natural methane hydrates are believed to be the largest source of hydrocarbons on Earth. These structures are formed in specific locations such as deep-sea sediments and the permafrost based on demanding conditions of high pressure and low temperature. We report that, by taking advantage of the confinement effects on nanopore space, synthetic methane hydrates grow under mild conditions (3.5 MPa and 2 degrees C), with faster kinetics (within minutes) than nature, fully reversibly and with a nominal stoichiometry that mimics nature. Furthermore, the formation of the hydrate structures in nanospace and their similarity to natural hydrates is confirmed using inelastic neutron scattering experiments and synchrotron X-ray powder diffraction. Our findings may be a step towards the application of a smart synthesis of methane hydrates in energy-demanding applications (for example, transportation).

Research Organization:
Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States)
Sponsoring Organization:
USDOE
Grant/Contract Number:
AC05-00OR22725
OSTI ID:
1342661
Journal Information:
Nature Communications, Vol. 6; ISSN 2041-1723
Publisher:
Nature Publishing GroupCopyright Statement
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English
Citation Metrics:
Cited by: 165 works
Citation information provided by
Web of Science

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Cited By (12)

High-Performance of Gas Hydrates in Confined Nanospace for Reversible CH 4 /CO 2 Storage journal June 2016
Methane Hydrate in Confined Spaces: An Alternative Storage System journal April 2018
Tuneable pressure effects in graphene oxide layers journal September 2017
Heavy oil oxidation in the nano-porous medium of synthetic opal journal January 2018
Constraint spaces in carbon materials journal January 2019
Study of the pore structure and size effects on the electrochemical capacitor behaviors of porous carbon/quinone derivative hybrids journal January 2019
Low-cost disposable high-pressure setup for in situ X-ray experiments journal September 2018
Pressure Effects with Incorporated Particle Size Dependency in Graphene Oxide Layers through Observing Spin Crossover Temperature journal April 2019
Low-cost disposable high-pressure setup for in situ X-ray experiments text January 2018
Low-cost disposable high-pressure setup for in situ X-ray experiments text January 2018
Structure and Dynamics of Confined C-O-H Fluids Relevant to the Subsurface: Application of Magnetic Resonance, Neutron Scattering, and Molecular Dynamics Simulations journal June 2017
Understanding the Pathway of Gas Hydrate Formation with Porous Materials for Enhanced Gas Separation journal January 2019

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