Gas hydrates: Unlocking the energy from icy cages

Technological advancements to control gas hydrates in energy transportation, recovery, and storage require detailed knowledge of the structural properties of these materials, and the thermodynamic and kinetic mechanisms of gas hydrate formation and decomposition. Paradigm shifts are moving the energy industry from thermodynamic to kinetic control strategies of gas hydrates in gas and oil deepwater pipelines, and from exploration to production from hydrated arctic deposits. This review examines the recent research progress in molecular structural kinetic studies of gas hydrates, and the development of new strategies for detecting and producing energy from arctic and oceanic hydrated deposits, and producing new materials for hydrogen storage. (C) 2009 American Institute of Physics. [doi:10.1063/1.3216463]