NSF CRC Project on Gas Hydrates

CRC Project

Text Box: There is growing interest in the use of methane hydrates as a potential energy source.Clathrate hydrates are also of interest for sequestering CO2 and for storing and transporting hydrogen.  The NSF Collaborative Research in Chemistry (CRC) Project is a team of chemists, geologists and engineers working together to advance the state knowledge of clathrate hydrates.  The CRC Project also includes a community outreach program involving high school teachers.  You can find more information about community involvement by following the above link.  The specific goals of our CRC project involve: New experiments to explore structures at hydrate surfaces Defining the smallest collection of water molecules that form hydrates Understanding the diffusion of small molecules between cages Better understanding of the formation mechanisms University of Pittsburgh Contribution The Pitt team is using electronic structure and computer simulations methods to address the above problems.  At present we are using high level electronic structure methods to study H2 in gas hydrates.  Among the questions we hope to answer are: How many H2 molecules fit in a cavity? How easy is it for the H2 to diffuse between cavities? Can one promote H2 uptake? Clathrates hydrates pose a major challenge for computer simulation since their formation is a nonequilibrium process and there is a wide range of time scales involved. University of California at Irvine Contribution There are multiple groups working at UC Irvine and a group at UC San Diego.  The Principal Investigators at UC Irvine are Dr. Kenneth C. Janda, Dr. Vartkess A. Apkarian, and Dr. William S. Reeburgh.  The UCSD Principal Investigator is Dr. Stefan Llewellyn-Smith. The Director and Principal Investigator of the NSF Collaborative Research in Chemistry (CRC) Project is Dr. Kenneth C. Janda; his laboratory consists of three groups: The first group includes Melissa Prado (first-year graduate student), Annie Pham (undergraduate student), and MinhTam Vu (undergraduate student).  They have been assisted by Robert Ferazzi and Joanne Abbondondola.  The specific goals of the project are as follows: The production of ternary clathrate (Methane-Propane-Water) systems at practical temperatures and pressures (i.e., temperatures greater than 10ēC and pressures less than 200 psi). The determination of occupancy for the small cages in the SII structure as a function of the gas mixture of methane and propane used to synthesize the clathrate. The second group includes Joanne Abbondondola (third-year graduate student) with assistance from Robert Ferazzi, Dr. Wytze van de Veer, and Devin Conroy.  The specific goals of the project are as follows:  The production of a high quality SII propane clathrate sample at practical temperatures and pressures (produced at temperatures greater than 0oC and pressures less than 200 psi).  The hydrogen diffusion and storage capabilities of the SII propane clathrates. The third group includes Dr. Galina Kerenskaia (first-year post-doc) and Kimberly Gock (undergraduate student) with assistance from Dr. Wytze van de Veer and Joanne Abbondondola.   The specific goals of the project are as follows: The growth of bulk bromine and chlorine clathrate crystals for spectroscopy analysis. Characterization of the hydrate at the molecular level using pump-probe laser spectroscopy and Raman spectroscopy. Dr. Vartkess A. Apkarian is a Co-Principal Investigator at UCI and his group focus on spectroscopic studies to probe the structure and dynamics of the bromine clathrate hydrates.  The group includes Dr. Ilya Goldschleger , Vahan Senekerimyan, and Meghan Krage.  The specific goals of the project are as follows:  The production of single crystal or thick film bromine clathrates (high optical quality) for spectroscopic measurements.  Four-wave mixing measurements in the transient population grating implementation.  This provides detailed information regarding the energetics and dynamics of the electronically and vibrationally excited bromine molecule in a clathrate or ice cage. Dr. William S. Reeburgh is a Co-Principal investigator at UCI and collaborates with Dr. Stefan Llewellyn-Smith and Devin Conroy at UC San Diego. The University of California at San Diego Contribution:  Dr. Stefan Llewellyn-Smith, a Co-Principal Investigator at UCSD and his graduate student, Devin Conroy, focus on in-situ modeling of clathrate hydrate deposits.  Devin Conroy (third-year graduate student) collaborates with Dr. William S. Reeburgh at UCI and conducts his experiment at UCI with assistance from Joanne Abbondondola and Bob Ferazzi.  The specific goals of the project are: To model the rate of dissociation of methane hydrates below the seafloor in response to an increase in overlying water temperature. Determine an appropriate scale for the gas storage capacity for the sediment. Develop a model to determine the amount of methane gas dissolved in the seawater from rising bubbles through the water column. Compare the models with appropriate laboratory experiments and if possible published field studies.