Investigating the Thermodynamic Stabilities of Hydrogen and Methane Binary Gas Hydrates

When hydrogen (H2) is mixed with small amounts of methane (CH4), the conditions required for clathrate hydrate formation can be significantly reduced when compared to that of simple H2 hydrate. With growing demand for CH4 as a commercially viable source of energy, H2 + CH4 binary hydrates may be more appealing than extensively studied H2 + tetrahydrofuran (THF) hydrates from an energy density standpoint. Using Raman spectroscopic and powder X-ray diffraction measurements, we show that hydrate structure and storage capacities of H2 + CH4 mixed hydrates are largely dependent on the composition of the initial gas mixture, total system pressure, and formation period. In some cases, H2 + CH4 hydrate kinetically forms structure I first, even though the thermodynamically stable phase is structure II.