Research progress of kinetic additives on the formation mechanism of methane hydrate: A review

[Display omitted] •A deep analysis of the mechanisms of the various kinetic additives is presented.•The mechanism of the kinetic compound additives is evaluated and analyzed.•The challenges and opportunities for improving the kinetic additives are presented. The depletion of fossil energy sources is causing natural gas (NG) to become the dominant energy source in the future. While hydrate-based NG storage technology is expected to advance a NG-based energy landscape, how to select appropriate kinetic additives to solve the slow formation rate and nucleation randomness in pure water is the key to realizing the industrial application of methane hydrate (MH). In this paper, the formation mechanism of MH in a pure water system was reviewed, and the research progress of various kinetic additives promoting the kinetics of MH formation and the action mechanism of different compound additives on MH were analyzed and summarized. The sustainability and economy of different kinetic additives were evaluated. It also provides a comprehensive evaluation of the sustainability and economics of these kinetic additives and discusses their challenges, limitations, and opportunities in MH storage. This review provides a comprehensive perspective to further understand the mechanism behind the kinetic additives that promote MH formation, and provides a scientific basis for optimizing the hydrate formation process. At the same time, it also points out the research direction for selecting more suitable, efficient and environmentally friendly kinetic additives in practical applications in the future, and provides an important reference value.