HYDRATES IN THE OCEAN AND EVIDENCE FOR THE LOCATION OF HYDRATE FORMATION

There is substantial evidence that the oceans of the world will pose t he most important challenges in the area of hydrate formation. This wo rk indicates three areas of concern for hydrate formation in the ocean : (1) deposits of natural gas in ocean hydrates, which will serve as a n energy resource and environmental concern in the next millenium, (2) a recent proposal for the ocean storage of carbon dioxide in the form of hydrates, and (3) the prevention of hydrate formation in ocean pip elines. To address such applications, fundamental knowledge on the sit e of hydrate formation was determined. Results are presented for quies cent, high-pressure experiments done in a sapphire tube to determine t he site of hydrate formation in deionized water and in mixtures with a morphous silica and sodium dodecyl sulfate. Visual (microscope aided) results are presented for formation with a typical gas mixture and wit h carbon dioxide.