Diffusion of CO2 During Hydrate Formation and Dissolution; A

Experiments were performed to measure the rate of diffusion of CO2 through hydrate films. Hydrate films were created in a capillary tube, and the growth of the hydrate film was measured. Difficulties were encountered in creating hydrate repeatedly, and some non-uniform growth of the films was observed. Sufficient observations were obtained to demonstrate that hydrate growth occurs preferentially on the hydrate/water side of the interface, rather than at the hydrate/CO2 interface. Diffusion coefficients were estimated from observations of the rate of growth of the hydrate film along with estimates of the solubility of CO2 in water and of the concentration gradient across the hydrate layer. The experimental observations indicate that hydrate formation occurs much more rapidly at the hydrate water interface than at the hydrate/CO2 interface. Any growth of hydrate at the CO2/hydrate interface was too slow to be observed at the time scale of the experiments. That observation is consistent with the idea that CO2 can move more easily through the hydrate, presumably by hopping between hydrate cages, than water can move through the hydrate, presumably by lattice hopping. Estimated diffusion coefficients were in the range 1-3E-06 cm2/sec. Those values are about an order of magnitude lower than the diffusion coefficient for CO2 in liquid water, but four orders of magnitude larger than the value for diffusion of CO2 in a solid. The rate of diffusion through the hydrate controls both the creation of new hydrate at the hydrate/water interface and the rate at which CO2 dissolves in the liquid water and diffuses away from the hydrate layer. Formation of a hydrate layer reduces the rate at which CO2 dissolves in liquid water