Kinetics and mechanism of the formation of CO 2 hydrate

This article proposes a mechanism of CO 2 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 CO 2 and reacts to form CO 2 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 CO 2 hydrate formation in previous articles. It is concluded that liquid CO 2 disposed in a deep ocean will form a very thin film of CO 2 hydrate, and this will greatly control the CO 2 diffusion in the ocean. © 1993 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.