KINETICS AND MECHANISM OF THE FORMATION OF CO2 HYDRATE

This article proposes a mechanism Of CO2 hydrate formation taking into account both diffusion and reaction, and gives an analysis of its kinetics. The most important assumptions on the model are that water dissolves into liquid CO2 and reacts to form CO2 hydrate, and that the hydrate blocks the dissolution and diffusion of water. Computational simulations were conducted, and the model proposed explains well the many observations on the CO2 hydrate formation in previous articles. It is concluded that liquid CO2 disposed in a deep ocean will form a very thin film Of CO2 hydrate, and this will greatly control the CO2 diffusion in the ocean. (C) 1993 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.