Phase Equilibria and Nucleation Rates of Mixed Methane-Tetrahydrofuran Gas Hydrates for Energy Storage

Mixed gas hydrates have been an area of active research for natural gas storage and transportation. While previous studies in the literature have focused on the structure, morphology, phase equilibria, and growth kinetics of these hydrates, limited data are available to describe their nucleation kinetics. This work reports the first measurement of mixed (methane-THF) gas hydrate nucleation rates and formation probability using a high-pressure stirred automated lag-time apparatus (HPS-ALTA). Ramped temperature experiments at three ramp rates were analyzed with the hazard function to extract nucleation rates, which were comparable with those previously measured for pure methane hydrate. Overall, these results suggest that THF is an effective gas hydrate promoter as it can yield hydrate formation at more favorable pressure/temperature conditions without compromising the associated nucleation rate.