Vasileios K. Michalis

Prediction of the phase equilibria of methane hydrates using the direct phase coexistence methodology

The direct phase coexistence method is used for the determination of the three-phase coexistence line of sI methane hydrates. Molecular dynamics (MD) simulations are carried out in the isothermal-isobaric ensemble in order to determine the coexistence temperature (T3) at four different pressures, namely, 40, 100, 400, and 600 bar. Methane bubble formation that results in supersaturation of water with methane is generally avoided. The observed stochasticity of the hydrate growth and dissociation processes, which can be misleading in the determination of T3, is treated with long simulations in the range of 1000-4000 ns and a relatively large number of independent runs. Statistical averaging of 25 runs per pressure results in T3 predictions that are found to deviate systematically by approximately 3.5 K from the experimental values. This is in good agreement with the deviation of 3.15 K between the prediction of TIP4P/Ice water force field used and the experimental melting temperature of ice Ih. The current results offer the most consistent and accurate predictions from MD simulation for the determination of T3 of methane hydrates. Methane solubility values are also calculated at the predicted equilibrium conditions and are found in good agreement with continuum-scale models.

The role of intermolecular interactions in the prediction of the phase equilibria of carbon dioxide hydrates

The direct phase coexistence methodology was used to predict the three-phase equilibrium conditions of carbon dioxide hydrates. Molecular dynamics simulations were performed in the isobaric-isothermal ensemble for the determination of the three-phase coexistence temperature (T3) of the carbon dioxide-water system, at pressures in the range of 200-5000 bar. The relative importance of the water-water and water-guest interactions in the prediction of T3 is investigated. The water-water interactions were modeled through the use of TIP4P/Ice and TIP4P/2005 force fields. The TraPPE force field was used for carbon dioxide, and the water-guest interactions were probed through the modification of the cross-interaction Lennard-Jones energy parameter between the oxygens of the unlike molecules. It was found that when using the classic Lorentz-Berthelot combining rules, both models fail to predict T3 accurately. In order to rectify this problem, the water-guest interaction parameters were optimized, based on the solubility of carbon dioxide in water. In this case, it is shown that the prediction of T3 is limited only by the accuracy of the water model in predicting the melting temperature of ice.

Molecular dynamics simulations of pure methane and carbon dioxide hydrates: lattice constants and derivative properties

ABSTRACT We report extensive molecular dynamics simulation results of pure methane and carbon dioxide hydrates at pressure and temperature conditions that are of interest to various practical applications. We focus on the calculation of the lattice constants of the two pure hydrates and their dependence on pressure and temperature. The calculated lattice constants are correlated using second order polynomials which are functions of either temperature or pressure. Finally, the obtained correlations are used in order to calculate two derivative properties, namely the isothermal compressibility and the isobaric thermal expansion coefficient. The current simulation results are also compared against reported experimental measurements and other simulation studies and good agreement is found for the case of isothermal compressibility. On the other hand, for the case of isobaric thermal expansion coefficient good agreement is found only with other simulation studies, while the simulation studies are in disagreement with experiments, particularly at low temperatures.

Lattice constants of pure methane and carbon dioxide hydrates at low temperatures. Implementing quantum corrections to classical molecular dynamics studies

We introduce a simple correction to the calculation of the lattice constants of fully occupied structure sI methane or carbon dioxide pure hydrates that are obtained from classical molecular dynamics simulations using the TIP4PQ/2005 water force field. The obtained corrected lattice constants are subsequently used in order to obtain isobaric thermal expansion coefficients of the pure gas hydrates that exhibit a trend that is significantly closer to the experimental behavior than previously reported classical molecular dynamics studies.

Using clathrate hydrates for gas storage and gas-mixture separations: experimental and computational studies at multiple length scales

ABSTRACT Clathrate hydrates have characteristic properties that render them attractive for a number of industrial applications. Of particular interest are the following two cases: (i) the incorporation of large amounts of gas molecules into the solid structure has resulted in considering hydrates as possible material for the storage/transportation of energy or environmental gases, and (ii) the selective incorporation of guest molecules into the solid structure has resulted in considering hydrates for gas-mixture separations. For the proper design of such industrial applications, it is essential to know accurately a number of thermodynamic, structural and transport properties. Such properties can either be measured experimentally or calculated at different scales that span the molecular scale-up to the continuum scale. By using clathrate hydrates as a particular case study, we demonstrate that performing studies at multiple length scales can be utilised in order to obtain properties that are essential to process design. GRAPHICAL ABSTRACT