Geometric Characterizations of Non-Uniform Structure I Methane Hydrate Behaviors Under Pressure

Gas hydrates have been identified as one of the leading candidates for future energy sources. According to conservative estimates, the energy contained in natural hydrates is double that of the fossil fuel that has been explored. This substantial energy storage motivates the investigation of natural...

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Main Authors: Samuel Mathews, Xiaodan Zhu, André Guerra, Phillip Servio, Alejandro Rey
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2025-05-01
Series:Crystals
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Online Access:https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4352/15/6/518
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author Samuel Mathews
Xiaodan Zhu
André Guerra
Phillip Servio
Alejandro Rey
author_facet Samuel Mathews
Xiaodan Zhu
André Guerra
Phillip Servio
Alejandro Rey
author_sort Samuel Mathews
collection DOAJ
description Gas hydrates have been identified as one of the leading candidates for future energy sources. According to conservative estimates, the energy contained in natural hydrates is double that of the fossil fuel that has been explored. This substantial energy storage motivates the investigation of natural hydrates. Prior research on mechanical/material properties has assumed that the lattice would be the smallest unit and averaged all the features within the lattice, disregarding smaller-scale geometric properties. We investigated the geometric features of sI methane hydrate under pressure. The sI methane hydrate is made up of two kinds of cages (polyhedrons) with two kinds of faces (polygons), and the vertices of the polygons are occupied by water oxygen atoms. Based on these three categories, we examined the cage integrity, face deformation, and water oxygen atom bond lengths and angles within and beyond the stability limits. The presence of forbidden zones was confirmed in bond length and angle distributions, validating the effects of geometric features. The predictive nature of water molecule angular displacement with pressure was validated. This multiscale computational materials science methodology describes and defines the range of the elastic stability of gas hydrates, a crucial contribution to energy materials science and engineering.
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spelling doaj-art-19e147fe8e6646e09bc0e093a53dfa512025-08-20T03:27:28ZengMDPI AGCrystals2073-43522025-05-0115651810.3390/cryst15060518Geometric Characterizations of Non-Uniform Structure I Methane Hydrate Behaviors Under PressureSamuel Mathews0Xiaodan Zhu1André Guerra2Phillip Servio3Alejandro Rey4Department of Chemical Engineering, McGill University, Montreal, QC H3A 0C5, CanadaDepartment of Chemical Engineering, McGill University, Montreal, QC H3A 0C5, CanadaDepartment of Chemical Engineering, McGill University, Montreal, QC H3A 0C5, CanadaDepartment of Chemical Engineering, McGill University, Montreal, QC H3A 0C5, CanadaDepartment of Chemical Engineering, McGill University, Montreal, QC H3A 0C5, CanadaGas hydrates have been identified as one of the leading candidates for future energy sources. According to conservative estimates, the energy contained in natural hydrates is double that of the fossil fuel that has been explored. This substantial energy storage motivates the investigation of natural hydrates. Prior research on mechanical/material properties has assumed that the lattice would be the smallest unit and averaged all the features within the lattice, disregarding smaller-scale geometric properties. We investigated the geometric features of sI methane hydrate under pressure. The sI methane hydrate is made up of two kinds of cages (polyhedrons) with two kinds of faces (polygons), and the vertices of the polygons are occupied by water oxygen atoms. Based on these three categories, we examined the cage integrity, face deformation, and water oxygen atom bond lengths and angles within and beyond the stability limits. The presence of forbidden zones was confirmed in bond length and angle distributions, validating the effects of geometric features. The predictive nature of water molecule angular displacement with pressure was validated. This multiscale computational materials science methodology describes and defines the range of the elastic stability of gas hydrates, a crucial contribution to energy materials science and engineering.https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4352/15/6/518clathratesmultiscaleatomicorientationgeometric
spellingShingle Samuel Mathews
Xiaodan Zhu
André Guerra
Phillip Servio
Alejandro Rey
Geometric Characterizations of Non-Uniform Structure I Methane Hydrate Behaviors Under Pressure
Crystals
clathrates
multiscale
atomic
orientation
geometric
title Geometric Characterizations of Non-Uniform Structure I Methane Hydrate Behaviors Under Pressure
title_full Geometric Characterizations of Non-Uniform Structure I Methane Hydrate Behaviors Under Pressure
title_fullStr Geometric Characterizations of Non-Uniform Structure I Methane Hydrate Behaviors Under Pressure
title_full_unstemmed Geometric Characterizations of Non-Uniform Structure I Methane Hydrate Behaviors Under Pressure
title_short Geometric Characterizations of Non-Uniform Structure I Methane Hydrate Behaviors Under Pressure
title_sort geometric characterizations of non uniform structure i methane hydrate behaviors under pressure
topic clathrates
multiscale
atomic
orientation
geometric
url https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4352/15/6/518
work_keys_str_mv AT samuelmathews geometriccharacterizationsofnonuniformstructureimethanehydratebehaviorsunderpressure
AT xiaodanzhu geometriccharacterizationsofnonuniformstructureimethanehydratebehaviorsunderpressure
AT andreguerra geometriccharacterizationsofnonuniformstructureimethanehydratebehaviorsunderpressure
AT phillipservio geometriccharacterizationsofnonuniformstructureimethanehydratebehaviorsunderpressure
AT alejandrorey geometriccharacterizationsofnonuniformstructureimethanehydratebehaviorsunderpressure