Amadeu K. Sum

Microsecond Simulations of Spontaneous Methane Hydrate Nucleation and Growth

Methanes Path to Captivity The mutual repulsion of oil and water is well known. It is thus somewhat baffling that in arctic regions and in marine sediments, enormous quantities of methane lie trapped under pressure in surrounding cages of ice. Walsh et al. (p. 1095, published online 8 October; see the Perspective by Debenedetti and Sarupria) undertook extended simulations to probe the steps that guide these two normally incompatible molecules along convergent, rather than divergent, paths. Computed 2- and 5-microsecond trajectories trace the process of methane capture as ice crystals nucleate and ultimately assemble into a cage network. An extended simulation uncovers the intricate steps whereby methane can be trapped in ice. Despite the industrial implications and worldwide abundance of gas hydrates, the formation mechanism of these compounds remains poorly understood. We report direct molecular dynamics simulations of the spontaneous nucleation and growth of methane hydrate. The multiple-microsecond trajectories offer detailed insight into the process of hydrate nucleation. Cooperative organization is observed to lead to methane adsorption onto planar faces of water and the fluctuating formation and dissociation of early hydrate cages. The early cages are mostly face-sharing partial small cages, favoring structure II; however, larger cages subsequently appear as a result of steric constraints and thermodynamic preference for the structure I phase. The resulting structure after nucleation and growth is a combination of the two dominant types of hydrate crystals (structure I and structure II), which are linked by uncommon 51263 cages that facilitate structure coexistence without an energetically unfavorable interface.

Effective kinetic inhibitors for natural gas hydrates

Abstract Kinetic inhibition is a new means of preventing flow channel blockage by natural gas hydrates. In kinetic inhibition the system is allowed to exist within the hydrate thermodynamic stability zone, so that small crystals are stabilized without agglomerating to larger hydrate masses which plug pipelines. A hydrate formation mechanism is reviewed to suggest the new inhibition method. Macroscopic experiments on two apparatuses are presented for the best kinetic inhibitors among approximately 1500 chemicals. Pressure, concentration, and salinity limitations were measured for the three best kinetic inhibitors: poly(N-vinylcaprolactam) (PVCAP), N-vinylpyrrolidone/N-vinylcaprolactam/N,N-dimethylaminoethyl-methacrylate (VC-713), and N-vinylpyrrolidone-co-N-vinylcaprolactam (VP/VC). Field tests have verified the laboratory research.

Molecular Simulation Study of Phospholipid Bilayers and Insights of the Interactions with Disaccharides

Molecular simulations of hydrated dipalmitoylphosphatidylcholine lipid bilayers have been performed for temperatures in the range of 250-450 K. The area per headgroup increases with temperature from 58 to 77 A(2). Other properties such as hydration number, alkyl tail order parameter, diffusion coefficients, and radial distribution functions exhibit a clear dependence on temperature. Simulations of bilayers have also been performed in the presence of two disaccharides, namely trehalose and sucrose, at concentrations of up to 18 wt % (lipid-free basis). The simulated area per headgroup of the bilayer is not affected by the presence of the disaccharides, suggesting that the overall structure of the bilayer remains undisturbed. The results of simulations reveal that the interaction of disaccharide molecules with the bilayer occurs at the surface of the bilayer, and it is governed by the formation of multiple hydrogen bonds to specific groups of the lipid. Disaccharide molecules are observed to adopt specific conformations to fit onto the surface topology of the bilayer, often interacting with up to three different lipids simultaneously. At high disaccharide concentrations, the results of simulations indicate that disaccharides can serve as an effective replacement for water under anhydrous conditions, which helps explain their effectiveness as lyophilization agents for liposomes and cells.

Challenges, Uncertainties, and Issues Facing Gas Production From Gas-Hydrate Deposits

Challenges, Uncertainties and Issues Facing Gas Production From Gas Hydrate Deposits G.J. Moridis, SPE, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory; T.S. Collett, SPE, US Geological Survey; M. Pooladi- Darvish, SPE, University of Calgary and Fekete; S. Hancock, SPE, RPS Group; C. Santamarina, Georgia Institute of Technology; R. Boswell, US Department of Energy; T. Kneafsey, J. Rutqvist and M. B. Kowalsky, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory; M.T. Reagan, SPE, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory; E.D. Sloan, SPE, Colorado School of Mines; A.K. Sum and C. A. Koh, Colorado School of Mines Abstract The current paper complements the Moridis et al. (2009) review of the status of the effort toward commercial gas production from hydrates. We aim to describe the concept of the gas hydrate petroleum system, to discuss advances, requirement and suggested practices in gas hydrate (GH) prospecting and GH deposit characterization, and to review the associated technical, economic and environmental challenges and uncertainties, including: the accurate assessment of producible fractions of the GH resource, the development of methodologies for identifying suitable production targets, the sampling of hydrate-bearing sediments and sample analysis, the analysis and interpretation of geophysical surveys of GH reservoirs, well testing methods and interpretation of the results, geomechanical and reservoir/well stability concerns, well design, operation and installation, field operations and extending production beyond sand-dominated GH reservoirs, monitoring production and geomechanical stability, laboratory investigations, fundamental knowledge of hydrate behavior, the economics of commercial gas production from hydrates, and the associated environmental concerns. Introduction Background. Gas hydrates (GH) are solid crystalline compounds of water and gaseous substances described by the general chemical formula G•N H H 2 O, in which the molecules of gas G (referred to as guests) occupy voids within the lattices of ice- like crystal structures. Gas hydrate deposits occur in two distinctly different geographic settings where the necessary conditions of low temperature T and high pressure P exist for their formation and stability: in the Arctic (typically in association with permafrost) and in deep ocean sediments (Kvenvolden, 1988). The majority of naturally occurring hydrocarbon gas hydrates contain CH 4 in overwhelming abundance. Simple CH 4 - hydrates concentrate methane volumetrically by a factor of ~164 when compared to standard P and T conditions (STP). Natural CH 4 -hydrates crystallize mostly in the structure I form, which has a hydration number N H ranging from 5.77 to 7.4, with N H = 6 being the average hydration number and N H = 5.75 corresponding to complete hydration (Sloan and Koh, 2008). Natural GH can also contain other hydrocarbons (alkanes C  H 2+2 ,  = 2 to 4), but may also contain trace amounts of other gases (mainly CO 2 , H 2 S or N 2 ). Although there has been no systematic effort to map and evaluate this resource on a global scale, and current estimates of in-place volumes vary widely (ranging between 10 15 to 10 18 m 3 at standard conditions), the consensus is that the worldwide quantity of hydrocarbon within GH is vast (Milkov, 2004; Boswell and Collett, 2010). Given the sheer magnitude of the resource, ever increasing global energy demand, and the finite volume of conventional fossil fuel resources, GH are emerging as a potential energy source for a growing number of nations. The attractiveness of GH is further enhanced by the environmental desirability of natural gas, as it has the lowest carbon intensity of all fossil fuels. Thus, the appeal of GH accumulations as future hydrocarbon gas sources is rapidly increasing and their production potential clearly demands technical and economic evaluation. The past decade has seen a marked acceleration in gas hydrate R&D, including both a proliferation of basic scientific endeavors as well as the strong emergence of focused field studies of GH occurrence and resource potential, primarily within national GH programs (Paul et al., 2010). Together, these efforts have helped to clarify the dominant issues and challenges facing the extraction of methane from gas hydrates. A review paper by Moridis et al. (2009) summarized the status of the effort for production from gas hydrates. The authors discussed the distribution of natural gas hydrate accumulations, the status of the primary international research and development R&D programs (including current policies, focus and priorities), and the remaining science and technological challenges facing commercialization of production. After a brief examination of GH accumulations that are well characterized and appear to be models for future development and gas production, they analyzed the role of numerical simulation in the assessment of the hydrate production potential, identified the data needs for reliable predictions, evaluated the status of knowledge with regard to these needs, discussed knowledge gaps and their impact, and reached the conclusion that the numerical simulation capabilities are quite advanced and that the related gaps are either not significant or are being addressed. Furthermore, Moridis et al. (2009) reviewed the current body of literature relevant to potential productivity from different types of GH deposits, and determined that there are consistent indications of a large production potential at high rates over long periods from a wide variety of GH deposits. Finally, they identified (a) features, conditions, geology and techniques that are desirable in the selection of potential production targets, (b) methods to maximize production, and (c) some of the conditions and characteristics that render certain GH deposits undesirable for production.

Fundamentals and Applications of Gas Hydrates

Fundamental understanding of gas hydrate formation and decomposition processes is critical in many energy and environmental areas and has special importance in flow assurance for the oil and gas industry. These areas represent the core of gas hydrate applications, which, albeit widely studied, are still developing as growing fields of research. Discovering the molecular pathways and chemical and physical concepts underlying gas hydrate formation potentially can lead us beyond flowline blockage prevention strategies toward advancing new technological solutions for fuel storage and transportation, safely producing a new energy resource from natural deposits of gas hydrates in oceanic and arctic sediments, and potentially facilitating effective desalination of seawater. The state of the art in gas hydrate research is leading us to new understanding of formation and dissociation phenomena that focuses on measurement and modeling of time-dependent properties of gas hydrates on the basis of their well-established thermodynamic properties.

Increasing Hydrogen Storage Capacity Using Tetrahydrofuran

Hydrogen hydrates with tetrahydrofuran (THF) as a promoter molecule are investigated to probe critical unresolved observations regarding cage occupancy and storage capacity. We adopted a new preparation method, mixing solid powdered THF with ice and pressurizing with hydrogen at 70 MPa and 255 +/- 2 K (these formation conditions are insufficient to form pure hydrogen hydrates). All results from Raman microprobe spectroscopy, powder X-ray diffraction, and gas volumetric analysis show a strong dependence of hydrogen storage capacity on THF composition. Contrary to numerous recent reports that claim it is impossible to store H(2) in large cages with promoters, this work shows that, below a THF mole fraction of 0.01, H(2) molecules can occupy the large cages of the THF+H(2) structure II hydrate. As a result, by manipulating the promoter THF content, the hydrogen storage capacity was increased to approximately 3.4 wt % in the THF+H(2) hydrate system. This study shows the tuning effect may be used and developed for future science and practical applications.

Droplet Size Scaling of Water-in-Oil Emulsions under Turbulent Flow

The size of droplets in emulsions is important in many industrial, biological, and environmental systems, as it determines the stability, rheology, and area available in the emulsion for physical or chemical processes that occur at the interface. While the balance of fluid inertia and surface tension in determining droplet size under turbulent mixing in the inertial subrange has been well established, the classical scaling prediction by Shinnar half a century ago of the dependence of droplet size on the viscosity of the continuous phase in the viscous subrange has not been clearly validated in experiment. By employing extremely stable suspensions of highly viscous oils as the continuous phase and using a particle video microscope (PVM) probe and a focused beam reflectance method (FBRM) probe, we report measurements spanning 2 orders of magnitude in the continuous phase viscosity for the size of droplets in water-in-oil emulsions. The wide range in measurements allowed identification of a scaling regime of droplet size proportional to the inverse square root of the viscosity, consistent with the viscous subrange theory of Shinnar. A single curve for droplet size based on the Reynolds and Weber numbers is shown to accurately predict droplet size for a range of shear rates, mixing geometries, interfacial tensions, and viscosities. Viscous subrange control of droplet size is shown to be important for high viscous shear stresses, i.e., very high shear rates, as is desirable or found in many industrial or natural processes, or very high viscosities, as is the case in the present study.

Molecular binding of catechins to biomembranes: relationship to biological activity.

Molecular dynamics simulations were used to study the interactions of four green tea catechin compounds with lipid bilayers. Reported studies have shown that catechins are linked to beneficial health effects, specifically those related to interactions with the cell membrane. To better understand the molecular interaction of catechins with membranes, simulations were carried out of interactions of four catechin molecules [epicatechin (EC), epigallocatechin (EGC), epicatechin gallate (ECG), and epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG)] with a 1-palmitoyl-2-oleoylphosphatidylcholine (POPC) lipid bilayer. The simulations show that catechins possess a strong affinity for the lipid bilayer. Some are absorbed into the bilayer. The molecular structure and aggregated condition of the catechins significantly influences their absorption, as well as their ability to form hydrogen bonds with the lipid headgroups. Insight into these molecular interactions helps to distinguish the structure-function relationship of the catechins with lipid bilayers and provides a foundation for a better understanding of the role of catechins in biological processes.

Molecular Dynamics Study on the Biophysical Interactions of Seven Green Tea Catechins with Lipid Bilayers of Cell Membranes

Molecular dynamics simulations were performed to study the interactions of bioactive catechins (flavonoids) commonly found in green tea with lipid bilayers, as a model for cell membranes. Previously, multiple experimental studies rationalized catechins anticarcinogenic, antibacterial, and other beneficial effects in terms of physicochemical molecular interactions with the cell membranes. To contribute toward understanding the molecular role of catechins on the structure of cell membranes, we present simulation results for seven green tea catechins in lipid bilayer systems representative of HepG2 cancer cells. Our simulations show that the seven tea catechins evaluated have a strong affinity for the lipid bilayer via hydrogen bonding to the bilayer surface, with some of the smaller catechins able to penetrate underneath the surface. Epigallocatechin-gallate (EGCG) showed the strongest interaction with the lipid bilayer based on the number of hydrogen bonds formed with lipid headgroups. The simulations also provide insight into the functional characteristics of the catechins that distinguish them as effective compounds to potentially alter the lipid bilayer properties. The results on the hydrogen-bonding effects, described here for the first time, may contribute to a better understanding of proposed multiple molecular mechanisms of the action of catechins in microorganisms, cancer cells, and tissues.

Gas hydrates: Unlocking the energy from icy cages

Technological advancements to control gas hydrates in energy transportation, recovery, and storage require detailed knowledge of the structural properties of these materials, and the thermodynamic and kinetic mechanisms of gas hydrate formation and decomposition. Paradigm shifts are moving the energy industry from thermodynamic to kinetic control strategies of gas hydrates in gas and oil deepwater pipelines, and from exploration to production from hydrated arctic deposits. This review examines the recent research progress in molecular structural kinetic studies of gas hydrates, and the development of new strategies for detecting and producing energy from arctic and oceanic hydrated deposits, and producing new materials for hydrogen storage.