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Updated: Jan 19, 2026

Methane Hydrate Crystallization on Sessile Water Droplets
Published on: May 26, 2021
Hydrate nucleation and growth on water droplets acoustically-levitated in high-pressure natural gas
Kwanghee Jeong1, Peter J Metaxas, Joel Chan
1Fluid Science & Resources, School of Engineering, University of Western Australia, 35 Stirling Highway, Perth, WA 6009, Australia. eric.may@uwa.edu.au.
Abstract:
Hydrate formation was studied using water droplets acoustically levitated in high-pressure natural gas. Despite the absence of solid interfaces, the droplets' area-normalised nucleation rate was about four times faster than in steel autoclave measurements with interfacial areas roughly 200 times larger. Multiple stages of stochastic, template-free hydrate growth were observed.
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