The November outside cover was designed by Dr Ryo Ohmura (Keio University, Japan).
Clathrate hydrates are crystalline solid compounds enclosing molecules called the “guest” in the cages consisting of hydrogen-bonded water molecules called the “host”.
In their study, Dr Ohmura and his co-workers observed the formation and growth of hydrate crystals formed with CH4 + CO2 mixed gas at the gas/liquid interface and in liquid water saturated with the guest gas. They also observed the morphology and the lateral growth rate of CO2 hydrates to compare with CH4 + CO2 hydrates.
Their results suggest that the crystal morphology of the CH4 + CO2 hydrate may be controlled by the guest composition dissolved in the liquid phase and not on the feed gas composition. Based on these observations, the authors discuss the implications for the process design of hydrate-based technologies.
Hiroki Ueno, Hotaka Akiba, Satoru Akatsu and Ryo Ohmura.
New J. Chem., 2015, 39, 8254-8262. DOI: 10.1039/C5NJ01080B.
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