A high-pressure cell for kinetic studies on gas hydrates by powder x-ray diffraction

A new high-pressure–low-temperature cell was developed for in situ observations of gas hydrates by powder x-ray diffraction. The experimental setup allows investigating hydrate formation and dissociation as well as transformation processes between different hydrate crystal structures as a function of pressure, temperature, and feed gas composition. Due to a continuous gas flow, the composition of the gas phase is kept constant during the whole experiment. This is crucial for the formation of mixed hydrates formed from feed gas mixtures that contain one or more components in low concentrations. The pressure cell can be used in a pressure range between 0.1 and 4.0 MPa and a temperature range between 248 and 298 K. First results of time-resolved measurements of a mixed structure II CH4 + iso-C4H10 hydrate and a structure I CO2 hydrate are presented.