Motion of agglomerates on the surface in the formation of methane hydrate crystals

A study of the formation of a crystal hydrate film CH4 · 6H2O on the surface of an immobile solution of methane in water have shown that, at early stages of film formation, hydrate crystals and their agglomerates are in motion at a velocity of 2–5 mm/s caused by crystal growth. Collisions of agglomerates are accompanied by their rotations at a Ω ∼ 0.2–2 rad/s rate. The motion of crystals and agglomerates is explained using the hydrodynamic model that takes into account the surface tension and the difference in the pressure exerted by the medium on the growing and nongrowing faces of crystals, which sets them in chemoreactive motion.