Behavior of clathrate hydrate formation at the boundary of liquid water and a fluorocarbon in liquid or vapor state

Observational studies have been carried out to reveal the mechanistic aspects of the formation of clathrate hydrate, crystalline solid, at the boundary of water in the liquid state and a fluorocarbon (HFC-134a; CF3CH2F) in the liquid or vapor state. The surface morphology of the hydrate layer formed at the interface depends strongly on the degree of saturation of the water phase with the fluorocarbon. Whether the fluorocarbon is in a liquid state or in a vapor state matters little to the mechanical structure of the hydrate layer. The structure seems to be affected more significantly by the hydrodynamic conditions near the interface. Copyright (C) 1996 Elsevier Science Ltd.